Biju’s iconic Dakota brought back to Odisha
The aircraft is a part of Kalinga Airlines, which was founded by the former CM
The iconic Dakota aircraft, used by former Odisha Chief Minister and legendary leader Biju Patnaik, was brought to Odisha for display at the Bhubaneswar airport.
With police escort, the three trucks carrying the dismantled parts of the plane reached Bhubaneswar city on Wednesday evening.
Hundreds of people were seen waiting along the national highway connecting Kolkata with Bhubaneswar to have a glimpse of the aircraft used by the legendary leader Biju Patnaik.
The dismantled Dakota (DC-3) VT-AUI aircraft will be reassembled and then positioned at a designated place at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here, officials said. “The historic Dakota aircraft used by former Chief Minister of Odisha Biju Patnaik, which was stationed at #KolkataAirport, has been handed over to the Government of Odisha today. It will be displayed at Bhubaneswar Airport,” Kolkata Airport said.
This aircraft is a part of Kalinga Airlines, which was founded by Biju Patnaik. The Airlines had a dozen aircraft, including Dakotas, at its headquarters in Kolkata.
According to historian Anil Dhir, Kalinga Airlines had 14 aircraft, of which nine crashed while one is in Indonesia, and another brought to Odisha. Patnaik had used a Dakota aircraft to rescue the then Indonesian Prime Minister Sutan Sjahrir in April 1947, Dhar said.
The aircraft was lying neglected as a piece of scrap in an abandoned corner of Netaji Subhas Bose International Airport, Kolkata for decades. The aircraft weighed over 8 tonnes and was around 64 feet 8 inches long.