PM Modi inaugurates Deoghar Airport. Why is it a big deal?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Jharkhand’s Deoghar Airport on Tuesday (July 12). PM flagged off the Deogarh-Kolkata IndiGo flight from the new airport.

The airport has been built to serve the northeastern part of Jharkhand and few districts of southeastern Bihar.

With the inauguration, the Deoghar Airport will be connected with Kolkata, Patna and Ranchi under government’s UDAN scheme, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) said in a statement.

Deoghar | The dream of this airport which was visioned in 2010 has been fulfilled by PM Modi. It's a matter of pride for us, says Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren pic.twitter.com/tdFWGagqIa

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2022

It has been constructed on 657 acres of land at an approximate cost of around Rs 400 crore. It can handle 5 lakh passengers annually. The 2,500 metre-long runway of the new airport can handle 200 passengers per day. It is also equipped for the landing and takeoff of Airbus A320 planes.

 Modi also inaugurated and laid foundation stone for a number of projects in Jharkhand, which cost around Rs 16,000 crore. This included a famous pilgrimage site in Jharkhand.

Why Deogarh Airport is important? The Deoghar Airport is important for two reasons: Religious tourism and the economical impact.

1. Religious tourism: The Deoghar Airport will promote religious tourism in Jharkhand. The airport is built with an aim to provide direct connectivity to Baba Baidyanath Dham, an important religious site for all the devotees from across the country. 

The inauguration ahead of the month of Shravan (23 July-22 August) which is believed to be a month of Lord Shiva in Hinduism, is timely because the footfall of religious pilgrims visiting the site increases in this month. 

Also, the Shravani Mela kicks off the next month. The airport will help bring devotees from all parts of the country to offer prayers the Baba Baidyanath temple which is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas.

2. Economical importance: Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das in 2019 had said that the airport will also generate a lot of employment for the people of Jharkhand. He had also said that people of West Bengal and Odisha will massively benefit from this airport.

WHEN DID THE CONSTRUCTION START?

The foundation stone of the Deoghar Airport was laid by PM Modi in May, 2018. It has been developed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).