UP CM Adityanath inaugurates air service from Gorakhpur to Varanasi

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday inaugurated the air service from Gorakhpur to Varanasi, an initiative under the UDAN scheme.

According to a spokesperson of the state government, Adityanath joined the virtual event from Lucknow and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia from Gwalior.

"At present, 75 destinations can be reached from Uttar Pradesh to different states in the country," the chief minister said in his address.

"Many changes have happened in the country's air connectivity, especially within Uttar Pradesh during the last five years and in the true sense, the state seems to be fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resolve to provide air travel for all," he said.

The Vishwanath temple in Varanasi is being connected to Gorakhnath by air today. It is a matter of great pleasure for me that Gorakhpur to Kanpur, Varanasi to Mumbai, Kanpur to Patna, Kushinagar to Kolkata and six other planes are starting today to connect different destinations of the state and the country, and I would like to thank the civil aviation minister on behalf of the people of the state, Adityanath noted.

The priest-turned-politician also expressed his gratitude to SpiceJet, which operates the airline service between Gorakhpur and Varanasi, and congratulated the passengers on the maiden flight.

Gorakhpur is the home district and constituency of Adityanath. He also heads the famous Gorakshapeeth there, while Varanasi (Kashi) is the parliamentary constituency of the prime minister.

"We all know that Kashi (Varanasi) is the oldest city in the world and due to the work done at Vishwanath temple under the leadership of the prime minister, people across the country would like to visit it," Adityanath said.

He said nine airports of Uttar Pradesh have now become fully functional.

He said five years ago, only four airports were functional in the state and air travel was possible to only 25 destinations in the country, but today, "we have set an example with the speed with which the airspace has developed within the state".

The BJP leader also mentioned about the new airports to be built at Chitrakoot, Sonbhadra and Shravasti as well as the functionalisation of the international airport at Kushinagar.