After Ayodhya, govt to focus on airstrip & airport in Chitrakoot

Lucknow: After initiating the construction of a full-fledged airport in Ayodhya, the state government has decided to accelerate the expansion of airstrip and construction work of the airport terminal at Chitrakoot, the place where Lord Ram is believed to have spent part of his 14 years in exile.
Situated on the Madhya Pradesh border amidst the Vindhyachal mountain range, the Chitrakoot airport is proposed to have a table-top runway.
“The airport, to be built on approximately 260 acres of land, will be expanded with a 1475 metre long and 23 metre wide runway. The work on the new terminal, apron, air traffic controller and a car parking is going on in full swing,” a government spokesperson said.
The government has already issued Rs 50 crore out of the allocated Rs 92 crore for the project. The development of Chitrakoot airport is projected to spur religious tourism in the state besides lending a push to the development of Bundelkhand region.
Sources said the department of civil aviation plans to connect Prayagraj and Kanpur with air services from Chitrakoot under the regional connectivity scheme.
Secretary, civil aviation, Surendra Singh said, “The state government has already made airports in Prayagraj, Kanpur, Hindon and Bareilly operational, while the ones in Azamgarh, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Moradabad, Sonbhadra, Shravasti, Ayodhya, Kushinagar and Saharanpur (Sarsawan) are under construction and will be operational soon.”
He said flights from Bareilly and Pantnagar to Prayagraj are also likely to start in the near future. The government also plans to take up the development of airports in Meerut, Jhansi and Ghazipur.