The Union Cabinet Wednesday approved the declaration of the airport in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar as an international airport, stating it will offer improved connectivity to the important Buddhist pilgrimage site.
"You know that Kushinagar is the mid-point of the Buddhist circuit. It has pilgrimage sites in Lumbini, Shravasti, Kapilvastu nearby it. A little farther, it has sites in Sarnath and Gaya," Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said after a Cabinet meeting.
"However, there was no airport there of international standards. Kushinagar airport is being declared as an international airport. A 3-km-long runway strip has already been made. Now, even a big aircraft of Airbus can land at the airport," he added.
Later, in an official statement, the Central government said around 200-300 devotees from Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Myanmar, etc come to offer prayers at Kushinagar on any given day.
Kushinagar is an important Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Gautama Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana after his death, it explained.
"However, this international tourist destination has no direct connectivity, which has been a long pending demand of the visitors," it said.
The "Buddhist Circuit" is a key pilgrimage destination for 530 million practicing Buddhists across the globe, the statement noted.
Several other Buddhist sites are present near Kushinagar like Sravasti (238 km), Kapilvastu (190 km) and Lumbini (195 km) and that makes it an attraction for both followers and visitors alike, the government said.
"Hence declaration of Kushinagar airport as an 'International Airport' will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of services at competitive costs to the air-travellers resulting in boosting of domestic/international tourism and economic development of the region," it added. "The international airport is expected to boost the already growing tourism and hospitality ecosystem in the country," it noted.
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