Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today urged the Civil Aviation Ministry to start air service between Varanasi and Bhubaneswar in order to boost the tourism potential of both cities.
"Both Varanasi and Bhubaneswar are places of interest not only for Indians but also foreign tourists and lakhs of them visit these cities every year," Yadav said in a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajpati Raju.
"Starting air services between these two cities will help tourism and also develop the infrastructure and increase employment opportunities at both the places," he said, adding, his government was working towards boosting the state's tourism in a big way.
The Chief Minister also requested the Odisha government to provide land, free of cost, in Puri for constructing a guest house for the convenience of tourists and devotees from Uttar Pradesh.
Acting on similar lines, the state government will provide land in Varanasi to Odisha government to construct a guest house there, Yadav said.
This will help tourism of both the states, the Chief Minister added.
