Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday inaugurated the Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries were also present at the ceremony. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister gave its approval for the declaration of Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh as an International Airport in June 2020. Kushinagar Airport is located in the vicinity of several Buddhist cultural sites like Sravasti, Kapilvastu, Lumbini (Kushinagar itself is a Buddhist cultural site) and declaration as an “International Airport” will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of competitive costs to the air-travellers. It will result in boosting of domestic/international tourism and economic development of the regions.
Kushinagar is located in the north-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh about 50 km east of Gorakhpur and is one of the important Buddhist pilgrimage sites. The Kushinagar International Airport has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 260 crore. It will facilitate domestic and international pilgrims to visit the Mahaparinirvana sthal of Lord Buddha and is an endeavour in connecting the Buddhist pilgrimage holy sites around the world. The airport will serve nearby districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and is an important step in boosting the investment & employment opportunities in the region.
Prime Minister Modi said that the government is aiming to set up over 200 airports, heliports and waterdromes for seaplanes across the country in the next three to four years. Addressing the people after inaugurating the Kushinagar International Airport, the Prime Minister said, “The effort will be to have a network of more than 200 airports, heliports and water dome in the nation in the next 3-4 years.” He also said that under the UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, more than 900 new air routes have been approved in the last few years, out of which air service has started in more than 350. “More than 50 new airports or those which were not in service earlier, have been made operational,” he added.
Earlier, Sri Lankan Cabinet Minister Namal Rajapaksa along with ministerial colleagues and a group of around 100 Buddhist monks arrived at Kushinagar International Airport to attend the inaugural ceremony of the airport on Wednesday. India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla received Sri Lanka’s Sports Minister and son of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sports Minister of Sri Lanka Namal Rajapaksa lauded the gesture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of inviting and making the Sri Lankan airline to be the first to land at the airport. “It is a great gesture by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to open an international airport at Kushinagar, especially inviting Sri Lankan airlines as the first international carrier to land at the airport. We believe there are numerous travellers who travel to India for Buddhist pilgrimage, and opening an airport at such a holy place for the Buddhists will not only benefit the Buddhists of Sri Lanka but also Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world,” Rajapaksa said.
Namal Rajapaksa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parinirvana Stupa on Wednesday after the inauguration of the Kushinagar International Airport in the city. Following the inauguration ceremony, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet Minister gifted a Sinhala version of the Bhagavad Gita to PM Modi, which also carried a message from Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Speaking at an event organised to mark Abhidhamma Day, Rajapaksa thanked Prime Minister Modi for extending a grant of USD 15 million to Sri Lanka to strengthen the Buddhist ties between the two nations. Rajapaksa said, “It gives me great pleasure and honour to be on the inaugural international flight to Kushinagar on the auspicious day of Vap Poya Day. I recall it was Indian PM Modi who suggested to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister during the Virtual Bilateral Summit with Sri Lanka in September 2020, that 100 members of Buddhist clergy must join for the inaugural flight to Kushinagar operated by Sri Lankan airlines. It’s an honour we will cherish for years to come.”
Rajapaksa said that Buddhism is the greatest gift India had given to Sri Lanka. “Ever since it (Buddhism) arrived in Sri Lanka, the relationship between our countries has been growing,” he said. He further noted that Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa commissioned the translation of Bhagavad Gita in all languages spoken in Sri Lanka.