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After initiating construction of a full-fledged airport in Ayodhya to enable landing of big aircraft and to boost religious tourism, the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to accelerate the expansion of the airstrip and construction of the airport terminal at Chitrakoot, the place where Lord Ram is believed to have spent a part of his 14 years in exile.
At the chief minister's directions, the airport of Chitrakoot, situated on the border of Madhya Pradesh and amidst the Vindhyachal mountain range, will be developed as the most beautiful airport of the country. The airport, which is undergoing expansion, is expected to be functional soon.
"The development of Chitrakoot airport will not only spur religious tourism in the state but will also give a major push to the Bundelkhand region on the path of progress," a senior government official said.
The UP chief minister, emphasising on the importance of converting Bundelkhand into a hub of development and tourism, views the development of Chitrakoot airport as extremely crucial to preserve and revive the region. The 296-km Bundelkhand Expressway, which is under construction, starts from Chitrakoot, which is also one of the six nodes of the defence industrial corridor.
Under the chief minister's ambitious scheme to promote regional connectivity in the state, the airport in Chitrakoot is being developed as a table-top airport. As the name suggests, the runway of the airport is located on an elevated terrain amidst the Vindhya Range and is being expanded as the most beautiful airport as it will encompass nature at its best.
The airport, built on approximately 260 acres of land, will be expanded with a 1,475-metre-long and 23-metre-wide runway. The work on the new terminal, apron, air traffic controller and a car parking is going on in full swing.
To ensure the development work progresses rapidly with no interruptions, the government has issued a sum of Rs 50 crore out of the allocated amount of Rs 92 crores for this project.
The projects undertaken by the government to boost regional connectivity are supervised by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and state Civil Aviation Department Secretary Surendra Singh. Prayagraj and Kanpur are expected to be the first cities to be connected with air services from Chitrakoot.
The UP government came out with its new civil aviation policy in 2017. It aimed at promoting overall development of the civil aviation sector in UP and generating greater business and employment opportunities. Consequently, the civil aviation sector under Yogi Adityanath is touching new heights.
Three-and-a-half years ago, the state had only four active airports namely Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi and Gorakhpur whereas with constant efforts of the Yogi government, eight airports, including Prayagraj, Kanpur, Hindon and Bareilly, are now functioning smoothly.
The government is also working on developing airports in the state. As a result, airports at Prayagraj, Kanpur, Hindon and Bareilly are ready for passenger aircraft while airports at Azamgarh, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Moradabad, Sonbhadra, Shravasti, Ayodhya, Kushinagar and Saharanpur (Sarsawan) are under construction and will be operational soon.
"Once all the 17 airports become functional, UP will get a connectivity boost, upswing in tourism and employment," Singh said.
Flights from Bareilly and Pantnagar to Prayagraj are also likely to be started in the near future.
As a future plan, the airports at Meerut, Jhansi and Ghazipur will also come up to add to civil aviation infrastructure of the state. It is also to be mentioned that the grand Noida International Airport will be developed by Switzerland-headquartered private company Zurich Airport International AG while the project's development will be monitored by NIAL, a nodal agency floated by the government of UP.