New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Kushinagar International Airport in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday. The airport will receive its maiden international flight from Sri Lanka with 125 dignitaries and Buddhist monks.
The airport will facilitate tourists and pilgrims from countries and jurisdictions with sizable Buddhist populations such as Japan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Taiwan among others.
The Prime Minister will address a programme at the Buddhist site of Mahaparinirvana Stupa and Temple after the inauguration of the Airport in which Sri Lankan Buddhist monks and the ministers from the Sri Lanka government will take part.
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The department of tourism is also organising a programme at Kushinagar in which key tour operators handling the Buddhist Circuit will participate.
Citing an estimate by the Uttar Pradesh government, officials said with the inauguration of an international airport in Kushinagar, will increase the tourist inflow by 20% and create employment opportunities for the local youth.
The International Airport will get operational this week to ease cumbersome travel of earlier times and facilitate the air travel requirements of International Buddhist pilgrims in India. The inaugural flight will land at the airport from Colombo, Sri Lanka carrying 125 dignitaries & Buddhist monks, highlighting the convenience to Buddhists across the world to visit the Mahaparinirvana Sthal of Lord Buddha.
Kushinagar International Airport
The Kushinagar Airport is being developed by the Airport Authority of India at an estimated cost of Rs 260 crore. The new terminal building of the airport is spread over 3,600 square meters and it will provide seamless connectivity to those international travelers who wanted to visit Gautam Buddha’s Mariparinirvan Sthal.
The new terminal is equipped to handle 300 passengers during peak hours. Kushinagar is an International Buddhist Pilgrimage Centre, where Lord Gautam Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana.
Kushinagar – at the heart of Buddhist circuit
According to officials, Kushi Nagar in Uttar Pradesh was chosen considering the demand of the domestic & international visitors and pilgrimage.
Kushinagar is the centre point of the Buddhist circuit, which consists of Buddhist pilgrimage sites located at Lumbini, Sarnath and Gaya.
According to officials, the airport will help in attracting followers of Buddhism from all over the world to Kushinagar and will enhance the development of Buddhist theme based circuits.
Journey of Lumbini, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Shravasti, Rajgir, Sankisa and Vaishali of Buddhist circuit will be covered in lesser time, said the officials, adding that the airport will not only put the pilgrimage site on the international aviation map but will also give a boost to the economic development of the region.
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“It will have a multiplier effect on the hospitality industry by promoting hotel business, tourism agencies, restaurants etc. It will create employment for local people by opening immense amount of opportunities in feeder transport services, local guide jobs etc. Local industry and products will get global recognition,” said a government official.
Officials said the development of the airport at Kushinagar will help in developing Kushinagar as one of the four principal places of Buddhist Pilgrimage.
It will help to impart Kushinagar the pre-eminence it deserves as part of Buddhist Circuit. Further, it will lead to development of India as the original Buddhist center and spread of principles of Buddhism across the world, they said.
The airport will serve a population of more than two crore as the airport has a hinterland of around 10-15 districts. The employment opportunities created with the opening of the airport will provide support to the large migrant population of eastern Uttar Pradesh, and western and northern Bihar. It will also boost the opportunities for export of horticultural products like Banana, Strawberries and Mushrooms.
