Bhubaneswar: In view of rising Odia population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Union Petroleum & Natural Gas, Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged the Centre for a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Dubai.

At present, Bhubaneswar is connected internationally via direct flight to only one destination i.e. Bangkok since it was granted International Airport status. There has been a long-pending request from various quarters for introducing a direct flight from Bhubaneswar to Dubai, wrote Pradhan in a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Drawing attention of the union minister, Pradhan said that more than 15,000 Odia people residing in different parts of the UAE who are forced to undertake an indirect route for travelling to Odisha.

Recently, Odia Society of UAE had a meeting with GM Air India Middle-east and Africa regarding viability of a direct Air India flight between Bhubaneswar and Dubai, he mentioned in the letter.

As Odisha capital is the educational, healthcare and tourist hub and for welfare of the commuters, he appealed to the Centre to introduce a direct flight connecting these two destinations.

"Bhubaneswar is an educational healthcare, cultural and tourist hub with rich potential for medical tourism, cultural tourism and educational exchange programmes. Keeping mind the welfare of commuters to and from Bhubaneswar-Dubai and larger potential for development of Odisha, I request your personal intervention in launching a direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Dubai at the earliest," he wrote.