Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has requested External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri for direct flights to Bhubaneswar from Gulf countries, UK and Sri Lanka to bring back stranded Odisha natives during this time of crisis.
Dharmendra has sought direct flights to Bhubaneswar from cities like Dubai, Doha, Dammam, Muscat, Bahrain, Colombo and London.
“I have received several representations from Odia persons living abroad requesting for their repatriation directly to Bhubaneswar. The Odia community representatives living in GCC countries, United Kingdom, and Sri Lanka have made specific requests to travel back from their respective capital cities to Bhubaneswar directly. Since they are in good numbers in these countries, point to point direct flights may be arranged from the cities like Dubai, Doha, Dammam, Muscat, Bahrain, Colombo and London to Bhubaneswar, which would also make commercial sense for the airlines,” he said in the letter.
This would go a long way in helping them during this time of crisis, he added.
