International status to Kushinagar Airport will boost development in Purvanchal: UP CM Yogi

Lucknow: Granting of international status to Kushinagar airport will aid development of Purvanchal region as well as enable better access to Buddhist followers from across the world looking to visit destinations in the state that are being developed as part of the "Buddha Circuit", UP CM Yogi Adityanath said.

The union cabinet on Wednesday granted international status to Kushinagar Airport , which along with the Jewar International Airport coming up in Noida, will ensure international air connectivity in both the eastern as well as western regions of the state and the NCR region.

"The construction of the airport will not only boost tourism in the state but also guarantee employment to a large number of people," said Adityanath.

Work on the airport for which the UP government had released 590 acre land and put in a total of Rs 190 crore , is 95% complete, according to infromation shared by the UP government.

Located at a distance of 50 kilometer from Gorakhpur, Kushinagar is a pilgrimage destination for Buddhists as it is here that Gautam Buddha gave his last sermon and attained Mahaparinirvana (nirvana-after- physical death of an enlightened being).

Other sites in UP that are part of the Buddha Circuit include districts of Kaushambhi and Shravasti, Sarnath in Varanasi and Sankisa in Farrukhabad.