CM Naveen Patnaik on Monday urged Civil Aviation Minister A Gajapathi Raju to declare the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) as the embarkation point for the Haj pilgrims of Odisha from Haj-2016 onwards.
In a letter, the Chief Minister informed the Minister that Haj pilgrims of Odisha are now using the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata as the embarkation point and urged him to BPIA for the purpose.
“Haj Pilgrims from Bihar and Jharkhand use the Gaya Airport and the Ranchi Airport for embarkation. Madhya Pradesh uses two airports and Maharashtra uses three airports for the purpose. This year more than 600 persons from Odisha are expected to undertake the pilgrimage. It will help the pilgrims if their journey could be done directly from Bhubaneswar,” he mentioned in the letter.