Question: Recently which Airport has been declared International Airport?
(a) Kushinagar
(b) Lalitpur
(c) Prayagraj
(d) Dimapur
Answer: (a)
Related facts:
- On 24 June 2020,Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister,Narendra Modi has given its approval for declaration of Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh as an International Airport.
- Kushinagar Airport is located in the vicinity of several Buddhist Cultural Sites like Sravasti, Kapilvastu, Lumbini.
- Declaration as an “International Airport” will offer improved connectivity, wider choice of competitive costs to the air-travellers.
- It will result in boosting of domestic/international tourism and economic development of the regions.
About Kushinagar:
- Kushinagar is located in the north-eastern part of Uttar Pradesh about 50 km east of Gorakhpur and is one of the important Buddhist pilgrimage sites.
- After independence, Kushinagar remained part of the district of Deoria. On 13 May 1994, it came into being as a new district of Uttar Pradesh.
- It is the site where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana after his death.
- The present Kushinagar is identified with Kusavati (in the pre-Buddha period) and Kushinara (in the post-Buddha period). Kushinara was the capital of Mallas which was one of the sixteen mahajanpads of the 6th century BCE.
By-Amar Mani Upadhyay
Links:
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1633913#:~:text=Cabinet%20approves%20declaration%20of%20Kushinagar%20Airport%20in%20Uttar%20Pradesh%20as%20an%20International%20Airport&text=The%20Union%20Cabinet%20chaired%20by,Pradesh%20as%20an%20International%20Airport.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushinagar#:~:text=Kushinagar%20is%20a%20pilgrimage%20town,an%20international%20Buddhist%20pilgrimage%20centre.