PM assured all support for proposed Puri Int’l airport: Odisha CM

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is now on a four-day visit to New Delhi, today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital.

“I met the Prime Minister and raised our demands before him. We mainly discussed issues regarding the establishment on a new international airport in Puri. We have outlined boundaries for the proposed airport. The Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar is getting too much traffic these days. So, we need a new airport in Puri. The Prime Minister has assured us of all possible help in this regard,” said Patnaik soon after meeting the Prime Minister.

Patnaik claimed that there was no discussion on any political issue during his meeting with the Prime Minister. “Our stand is very clear. We always maintain equidistance from both BJP and Congress,” said Patnaik, who is also the president of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha.

Patnaik further said he has urged the Prime Minister to include Odisha in Bharat Net Phase-II. “I urged the Prime Minister to take the necessary steps to complete all National Highway projects in Odisha. Besides, I sought the PM’s intervention for opening more bank branches in rural areas of the state,” Patnaik added.

Banking facilities have been made available in only 2,844 panchayats out of the total 6,798 in Odisha, sources said.

Notably, Patnaik flew to the national capital a day after Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) leader Nitish Kumar met him at his residence in Odisha capital on May 9.

Patnaik had also denied any discussion on political issues during his meeting with Kumar. “The Odisha government would provide a piece of land in Puri to Bihar government for establishment of a guest house,” Patnaik had said to the media soon after his meeting with Kumar. Kumar.