Bhubaneswar: Former Minister and BJD Veteran Anang Udaya Singh Deo is happy with the announcement of CMO Odisha for starting direct flight to Dehradun soon.
The Chief Minister’s Office made an announcement in this regard on Social Media platform X on 15 November.
“The communication system is being strengthened. The path of progress is widening. Direct flights will start from Biju Patnaik International Airport to Indore, Dehradun, Kochi, Jaipur, and Lucknow”, the CMO said.
Shri Singh Deo has been trying hard to convince Ministry of Civil Aviation to start direct flight between Capital Cities of Odisha and Uttarakhand since 2021.
While writing a letters former Odisha Tourism Minister Shri Singh Deo has said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has accelerated the pace of connecting the unconnected places with air services with direct flights.
Shri Singh Deo justified his urge for Bhubaneswar-Dehradun Connect on several counts as both the Capital Cities are needed to be connected with air services for which demand is growing.
A direct flight from Dehradun to Bhubaneshwar will mainly benefit in the following ways, said Shri Singh Deo.
Directly link Badrinath Dham to Jagannath Dham and Kedarnath to Lingaraj, which are visited by lakhs of devotees.
This will also link Chardham- Badrinath, Kedarnath- Gangotri and Yamunotri to Temple City of Bhubaneswar and Holy City of Puri.
Direct Flight will also link Hardwar and Rishikesh with Bhubaneswar as Dehradun is the nearest airport for all these destinations.
Secondly Dehradun is known for Educational and Institutional Hub of the country as it houses institutions like Indian Military Academy, Forest Research Institute of India. Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy, Doon School, Welham Boys School, Welham Girls School, Rashtriya Indian Military College, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Mussoorie shelters Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration and several others.
For Tourists Dehradun is Gateway to Himalayan Tourist Destinations like Mussoorie, Uttarkashi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Valley of Flowers.
Similarly Bhubaneswar is Capital City of Odisha is known as Temple City as it houses over 700 temples and Odisha is confluence of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Heritage.
Golden Triangle of Bhubaneswar-Konarak-Puri attracts huge tourists across the country.
Now Bhubaneswar is known for Health and Educational Hub of Eastern India having large number of Super Specialty Hospitals and Medical Colleges and several large Universities to cater to the needs of students.
Bhubaneswar is having both Domestic and International Airport- Biju Patnaik International Airport.
While Bhubaneswar is one of the most visited destinations of Eastern India, Dehradun is the Gateway to Himalayan Region.
Under this backdrop, both the Capital Cities of Northern and Eastern States are needed to be connected with direct flights as Ministry of Civil Aviation has already started more than 350 new routes for the benefit of the people.
Recently Ministry of Civil Aviation has decided to connect Pink City-Jaipur and Temple City- Bhubaneswar with a new direct flight that commences from November.
Looking at the enormous potential for religious, medical and educational requirements as well as huge tourism attractions, Mr.Singh Deo had urged Ministry of Civil Aviation to consider the case and instruct the officials to do the needful for starting a direct flight between Dehradun and Bhubaneswar, which will be of great support for devotees and tourists as well.
Now with CMO announcing the direct flights to start soon to Dehradun, obviously the former Minister for Tourism is happy.