Badangi
Badangi | |
|---|---|
village | |
 Dynamic map | |
.svg)  Badangi Location in Andhra Pradesh, India  Badangi Badangi (India) | |
| Coordinates: 18°29′41″N 83°22′06″E / 18.494679°N 83.368241°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Andhra Pradesh |
| District | Vizianagaram |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Telugu |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 535 578 |
| Vehicle Registration | AP35 (Former) AP39 (from 30 January 2019)[1] |
Badangi is a village in Vizianagaram district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Badangi mandal.[2]
Demography
Badangi mandal has a population of 49,384 in 2011. Males consists of 24,881 and females 24,503 of the population. According to 2001 census average literacy rate is 49%, below the national average of 59.5%. Male literacy rate is 60% and that of females 38%.
Badangi Airstrip
There is a historic airstrip near Badangi village. It was used as command base for Royal Air Force in British India.[3] The construction was started in 1942 and completed in 1943. It was constructed by Mackenzie company and was the second biggest RAF base after the one at Lahore. It was built on 221 acres (0.89 km2) of land and consisted of two runways in a cross formation. It had control-tower overlooking both the runways, a separate underground armament depot that housed the 250-pound torpedo bombs, many underground bunkers, hangars, staff quarters and a natural pond for the fire-fighting.[4]
The RAF squadron at Badangi comprised Supermarine Spitfire fighters, Hawker Hurricane fighters, Avro Lancaster bombers, Vickers Wellington bombers, Bristol Beaufighter bombers and Douglas Dakota transport aircraft.
It was closed in 1946 as the war was over and was then used to store paddy and wheat by the Food Corporation of India. Today, the huge seven-inch thick solid concrete runway that is being used by the local farmers for threshing the grains. All the other structures have been demolished.[4]
It was first reported in 2013 that the Indian Navy is interested in reactivating the airstrip for operational use alongside INS Dega. This was announced by the then Navy chief Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi.[4] The base would only be an "alternative" to INS Dega and the entire operations would not be shifted.[5] In February 2023, it was revealed that the Navy needed 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) of rectangular land to setup the Navy base.[6]
Institutions
- There is Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Junior College in Badangi maintained by Social welfare department of Andhra Pradesh Government.[7]
References
- ^ "New 'AP 39' code to register vehicles in Andhra Pradesh launched". The New Indian Express. Vijayawada. 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Mandal wise list of villages in Vizianagaram district" (PDF). Chief Commissioner of Land Administration. National Informatics Centre. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ "Runway down memory lane in The Hindu, 2002". Archived from the original on 8 May 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c "Historic Badangi airstrip to be reactivated by Navy". The Times of India. 7 November 2013. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Service, Express News (4 September 2015). "Move to Shift INS Dega Dismissed". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ "In Andhra Pradesh, Badangi airstrip to be reactivated by Navy". The Times of India. 20 February 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ [1] Archived 19 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine Board of Intermediate Education, Andhra Pradesh.Vizianagaram district