Bhubaneswar: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the Centre to make arrangements to operate direct flights to Bhubaneswar. He has said that these flights from the gulf countries, United Kingdom and Sri Lanka will be helpful. It will enable stranded Odias in these nations return home. A number of Odias are stranded abroad at various places due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Pradhan’s plea
The Union Petroleum and Steel Minister Pradhan has written two separate letters. One of them is to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, the other to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. He has sought the government’s intervention for arranging flights from these countries to bring back the stranded Odias.
Success of Vande Bharat Mission
Pradhan said the decision of the Centre to repatriate Indian nationals under the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ has been very successful. It has helped many migrant workers, students and professionals to fly back to their home states.
In this regard, Ministry of Civil Aviation has been doing commendable work. It has done so by operating flight service for the passengers stranded abroad. Pradhan released the letters to the press Wednesday.
The minister said he has received representations from Odia persons living abroad. They have requested him to make arrangements so that they can return to the Odisha capital.
Commercially viable
The Odia community representatives living in GCC countries, United Kingdom, and Sri Lanka have made the requests. They want to fly back directly to Bhubaneswar, Pradhan wrote in the letters.
The number of stranded Odias is quite large. So direct flights may be arranged from Dubai, Doha, Dammam, Muscat, Bahrain, Colombo and London to Bhubaneswar. It will also be commercially viable for the airlines, Pradhan said in his letters.
Resumption of flights
The Centre has already resumed domestic flights in India almost two months after the enforcement of the lockdown. However, regular international flights are yet to start.
PTI
