Minister of Civil Aviation and Steel Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with General (Dr) V. K. Singh(Retd.) MoS for Civil Aviation and Road Transport and Highways, inaugurated multiple flights to expand the connectivity to Northeaster Region further.
Enhanced connectivity in the Northeastern region of India will help bolster tourism and trade in the region and contribute to the economic development of the states.
The Itanagar-Mumbai flight via Kolkata will be operated by IndiGo. The flight operation started on November 28.
Dibrugarh-Itanagar-Ziro flight operated by Alliance Air started on November 29.
The Dibrugarh-Itanagar-Pasighat flight also operated by Alliance Air began on November 30.
In his inaugural address, Scindia said that previous governments used to give hope, but nothing was being implemented. In the last eight years, the Modi government has prioritised the Northeastern states unprecedentedly.
It is the vision of the Prime Minster to provide air connectivity to each corner of the country and we are working in collaboration with each state to materialize it. Not only the major cities but the advanced landing grounds in the remote areas of tier 2 and tier 3 cities will also be connected.
Minister appreciated the state government of Arunachal Pradesh for reducing the VAT on ATF and said that it has resulted in a rapid increase in air connectivity.
He assured that not only in the major cities but advanced landing grounds in remote areas will also be connected. He also assured that Vijay Nagar, Mechuka, and Tuting are under development and will be connected soon.
The location of Itanagar City, 15 kilometres from Donyi Polo Airport, is ideal for adventure activities. Other than fishing and rafting, trekking is a very well-liked sport in the city. Fort Itanagar is one of the most well-known tourist destinations in Arunachal Pradesh, but the city is also home to the Jawaharlal Nehru State Museum, Buddha Temple, Ganga Lake, and numerous more well-liked tourist attractions.
Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju, MoS for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Labour and Employment Rameswar Teli, Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Arunachal Pradesh's Minister of Civil Aviation, Tourism and Transport Nakap Nalo, Lok Sabha MP Tapir Gao were among the distinguished guests present at the inauguration.
Civil Aviation Minister Scindia on Monday flagged off flight operations of IndiGo from New Delhi, which connects Itanagar to Mumbai via Kolkata.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated Donyi Polo Airport in Arunachal Pradesh and today is the historic day that we are inaugurating flight services from two metro cities to Itanagar," Scindia said.
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the naming of Greenfield Airport at Hollongi in Itanagar as Donyi Polo Airport in the first week of November this year.
The airport authority of India has developed a greenfield airport in Itanagar with the help of the Centre and the state government with expenses of around Rs 646 crore.
The Aviation Minister took a jibe at the previous UPA government saying, "Why more airports were not built before 2013-14... After 2013-14, now there were only 9 airports in the North-East, at present in eight years there are 16 airports in the Northeast."
Air connectivity with all the states in the country is a mission and will continue till all the airfield in the country is connected with flight operations.
( With inputs from ANI )
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