Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday flagged off the maiden Air India Express flight from Kolkata to Ayodhya. Yogi, who joined the programme through videoconferencing from his official residence in Lucknow, said on the occasion that Ayodhya is going to be the most prominent city as a tourist destination in the country and the world in times to come.

“Ayodhya has a large number of local devotees, but considering the eagerness in the entire country, we have taken up the responsibility to ease the movement of devotees. The work done by the civil aviation ministry for this is commendable,” he added. The chief minister thanked civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and General V K Singh who, he said, provided all possible support to Uttar Pradesh by focusing special attention on its connectivity.

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“Under the inspiration and leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh has given excellent results in this direction and within the last nine-and-a-half years, not only new airports have come up in Uttar Pradesh but with four international airports, the state has become a leader in terms of air connectivity,” he added.

Yogi said Ayodhya is not only a symbol of India’s eternal faith, but Lord Ram is also a symbol of our religion, wealth, work and efforts related to salvation. After a long gap of 500 years, the entire country has expressed its faith in Ayodhya. Today its result is in front of us. On 22 January, Ram Lalla will be present in his physical form at his birthplace. Naturally, there is a curiosity and eagerness to reach Ayodhya in the entire country.

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said where Ram’s name is mentioned, work gets completed there. “Today is another important day. Under the leadership of PM Modi and CM Yogi, Uttar Pradesh is reaching new heights in terms of development and progress,” he added. He said, “We had celebrated one Diwali last year, the second Diwali was celebrated recently at the time of election results of three states and now the third Diwali is going to be celebrated on 22 January. It will be the most memorable day in the lives of all the 800 crore Ram devotees across the world.”