Efforts on to expand Puducherry airport runway: CM Narayanasamy

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy plans to increase tourist inflow in the state. (File)

Efforts were on to expand the runway of the Puducherry airport owing to increased tourist inflow and land has been sought from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister of the Union Territory, V Narayanasamy said Thursday. Speaking to reporters at the airport here on his arrival from Delhi, Narayanasamy said the Puducherry-Hyderabad flight service will be launched on August 16, after which Puducherry will be connected to other destinations such as Bengaluru, Cochin, Coimbatore and Tirupati.

“We are taking steps for the expansion of the runway at the airport to accommodate big flights.. We have sought land from Tamil Nadu and they are taking steps,” he said.

This measure was being taken up keeping in mind the growing inflow of tourists to the union territory, he added. On his visit to the national capital, he said he had met President Ramnath Kovind and greeted him during a “courtesy call.”

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Further, he had also met Union Health Minister JP Nadda over seeking exemption for the UT from National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET).

“We had already sent the file in this regard and we took up the matter with him,” he said.