Jharsuguda: A group of non-resident Odias was among the 145-odd passengers who took the inaugural SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Jharsuguda on March 31.
They had come from UAE to be part of the historic occasion when the industrial town was once again connected to the air map of the country. The group had spearheaded an international campaign for direct air connectivity to the newly inaugurated Veer Surendra Sai Airport.
The group comprised members such as Manas Panda, director of a large American electrical company and Priyadarshee Panigrahi, general manager of a leading consumer goods company in UAE. Both are based in Dubai.
They were invited to light the inaugural lamp at the Terminal 2 building of Delhi’s airport from where the flight took off and flagged off the aircraft on the tarmac, said a statement issued by the non-Odia community in Dubai.
The team carried special gifts for the passengers. Dates, a specialty of the Middle East, were sourced in Dubai and packed for distribution among passengers and airport staff, the statement said.
Non-resident Odias living in UAE under the banner of Global Odias for Odisha’s Development had launched a campaign to operationalise Jharsguda airport. The campaign was started in October last year with a memorandum presented to the Indian Consul General in Dubai. The had also drawn the attention of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik towards the issue.
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