SSC
The Pakyong Airport, one of the highest airports in India, is located in:
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Answer: Option D — Sikkim
Detailed Solution
The Pakyong Airport is located at Pakyong, about 30 km south of Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim.
About Pakyong Airport:
- It is the first and only airport in Sikkim.
- It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24 September 2018, and commercial flights began in October 2018.
- It was the 100th operational airport in India at that time.
- It was built by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
It is located at a height of about 4,500 feet (about 1,400 metres) above sea level, in the Himalayan foothills. It is one of the five highest airports in India.
Its construction was a remarkable engineering achievement: the runway was built on a hilltop, which required huge cutting and filling of earth.
It has one of the tallest reinforced earth walls (retaining walls) in the world, about 80 metres high.
Before it was built, visitors to Sikkim had to fly to Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal and then travel by road for about 4-5 hours.
Flights have often been affected by bad weather, fog and low visibility.
About Sikkim:
- It became a state of India on 16 May 1975.
- Its capital is Gangtok.
- It is the least populous state of India.
- The Nathu La pass connects Sikkim with Tibet (China), and it is a route for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.
- The Sevoke-Rangpo rail line is being built to connect Sikkim with the Indian railway network.
Other high-altitude airports in India:
- Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh (Ladakh): about 3,256 metres; one of the highest commercial airports in the world.
- Thoise Airport (Ladakh): a military airfield.
- Daulat Beg Oldi (Ladakh): an advanced landing ground at about 5,000 metres, one of the highest airstrips in the world.
Other new airports in the north-east:
Donyi Polo Airport, Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh), opened in 2022.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Arunachal Pradesh has the Donyi Polo Airport.
- ✗Ladakh has the Leh airport.
- ✗Himachal Pradesh has the Kullu-Manali (Bhuntar), Shimla and Kangra airports.
Quick tip
Remember: Pakyong Airport = Sikkim (first airport of Sikkim; opened 2018; 100th operational airport); Leh airport = among the world's highest; Donyi Polo = Itanagar.
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Industries & Transport in India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Industries & Transport in India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's major industries (iron and steel, textiles, cement, sugar, automobiles and information technology) and their locations, along with the transport network: railways, roads and national highways, ports, airports and waterways. Common questions ask where a steel plant is located and which country helped build it (Bhilai with the Soviet Union, Rourkela with Germany and Durgapur with Britain), which city is called the 'Manchester of India', and facts about major ports, railway zones and national highways. Practise the industries and transport questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.