 "Naveen wants Bhubaneswar on Air India's Varanasi-Colombo route")
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik has pitched for including Bhubaneswar in Air India's Varanasi-Colombo circuit. The step, Patnaik, feels would contribute to promoting Buddhist tourism and boost tourist footfalls.
In a letter to civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, he said, "In the recently held International Buddhist Conclave and other discussions in different forums, the tour operators, academicians and revered monks from Sri Lanka have expresses strong desire to come to Odisha to explore the Buddhist heritage sites. However, as there is no direct connectivity, Sri Lankan tourists find it difficult to visit Odisha."
Inclusion of Bhubanewar as a stop in the Varanasi-Colombo
