If one happens to be a devotee of lord Shiva but cannot visit the lord to pay obeisance to him because of time constraints, then there is certainly a good news — a direct flight between Ranchi and Deoghar for the pilgrims was launched on Thursday that will help people to perform puja at the temple and return on the same day.
The service was launched by Advisor to Governor, K Vijay Kumar. The special flight service will be available from July 22 to August 21. Three nine-seater planes will be used for carrying devotees everyday between the capital city and Deoghar. Addressing the gathering, Secretary of civil aviation department, Sajal Chakravarty said the pilgrimage will pave the way for development of the State.
A joint effort of department of Tourism, department of Civil Aviation and the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FJCCI), the trip will cost around Rs 14,999 per person. “This cost will include tickets, food and VIP Darshan. It will start in the morning and will return by evening,” said president FJCCI, Ranjeet Kumar Tibrewal.
Interestingly, FJCCI's head honcho suggested that the service will be started from other cities as well. “Depending on the response we will start the service from Jamshedpur also. Everything is ready at Jamshed-pur the only thing we need is demand,” added Tibrewal. Tibrewal also suggested that the flight service will boost tourism industry in the State and infrastructure can be leveraged to open other tourist routes in Jharkhand.
“The main objective of this whole exercise is to give impetus to the tourism industry in Jharkhand which will ultimately help in creating more jobs. Netarhat is famous a place we would like the service start on this route in future,” Tibrewal said. linking the State’s development with the step, Director Tourism Siddhart Tripathy said any State’s development is linked to the development of tourism sector in that State.
As many as 11 members of the FJCCI, including Tibrewal, booked tickets to Baidynath Dham on the day of the launch. Secretary Civil Aviation, Sajal Chakravarty and other members of the FJCCI were present on the occasion.