Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath flagged off an Air India Express flight connecting Ayodhya to Calcutta on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Scindia said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has touched new heights of development.

"Uttar Pradesh is a state that ensures India's progress. We celebrated Diwali in November last year. Meanwhile, the people of my state (Madhya Pradesh) also celebrated Diwali on December 3 after the Assembly poll results were declared. Now, we will celebrate another Diwali on January 22," he said.

The consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is scheduled to be held on January 22.

In his address via video-conferencing, Adityanath said, "The Ram mandir pran pratishtha ceremony will be held on January 22 and the entire country is excited about the event." "People are eagerly planning to visit Ayodhya. Four or five years ago, nobody could have thought that an airport would be built in Ayodhya. However, this is a reality now," he added.

Adityanath pointed out that Uttar Pradesh got new airports in the last more than nine years.

"With four international airports, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as an important state with air connectivity. The prime minister inaugurated the Maharishi Valmiki airport in Ayodhya on December 30. After flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, a flight service connecting Ayodhya and Calcutta has also started from today," he said.

The chief minister said Ayodhya is going to be the most prominent tourist destination in the country and the world in the future.

"Ayodhya is already home to a large number of local devotees, but considering the eagerness across the country, we have taken up the responsibility of making the movement of devotees easy. The work done by the civil aviation ministry for this is commendable," he added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said Ayodhya is not only a symbol of India's "Sanatan" faith, but Lord Shri Ram also symbolises "our religion, wealth, work and efforts related to salvation".

He added that the temple consecration ceremony will finally take place after a long wait of 500 years.

"There is curiosity and eagerness in the entire country to reach Ayodhya. Six years ago, a plan was made for four-lane connectivity inside Ayodhya, connecting it with the doubling work of the railway line, a cruise service in the sacred Sarayu river and an international airport. All these are reality now," Adityanath said.

He pointed out that the Uttar Pradesh government has already provided 821 acres of land in Ayodhya to the civil aviation ministry.

"Eight planes can land there. Parking facilities have been made available to them. Keeping in mind the future possibilities, whatever plan the civil aviation ministry has made, the state government will cooperate with it," he said.

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