VISAKHAPATNAM: Union minister for civil aviation Ajit Singh flagged off the inaugural international flight from Visakhapatnam to Dubai on Sunday evening amid loud cheers, in presence of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and ministers and MLAs.
The Air India flight AI-592 from Dubai landed at airport in the city in the morning hours on Sunday and was flagged off on its return trip, by Ajit Singh, at 6:20 p.m.
With this international flight to Dubai, city of destiny is included in the list of airports in India with international flight services.
At present 38 services of 19 flights of various airlines are operating from Visakhapatnam to different destinations in the country.
After the ceremony, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy said Union government has released Rs 100 crore for tourism development in the state.
He said that his government was ready to allocate Rs 30 crore for development of King George Hospital in the city, which has been serving the poor in the region and neighbouring Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
He said Union government has released Rs 84 crores for 24X7 potable drinking water project in the city.
Congress government will provide 1.16 lakh jobs to the unemployed youth this year and release Rs 3,500 crore under fee reimbursement and scholarships, the chief minister said.
On the demand of the opposition parties for a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into land scandals in Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, Reddy said vigilance and enforcement will conduct an inquiry into the irregularities in allotments of house sites and lands and submit its report within three months and action would be initiated against all responsible for the scam.
He said vigilance and enforcement inquiry was also effective like the CBI.
Responding to the results of the recent bypolls in the state, the chief minister said political results depends upon the latest circumstances in the state and the recent results would not affect Congress in future.
Earlier, he inaugurated a two-lane carriageway underpass byroad at Asilmetta and visited the ongoing carnival at RK Beach and addressed a thinly attended public meeting
Botcha Avoids Kiran at Vizag
VISAKHAPATNAM: The differences between chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and state Congress president and transport minister Botcha Satyanarayana came out in the open on Sunday.
Though the chief minister was taking part in a couple of programmes in the city, Satyanarayana, who was in neighbouring Vizianagaram, did not bother to join him.
His aides told this correspondent that Botcha was busy attending programmes in his home district.
But the hollowness of their excuse was exposed very soon.
Satyanarayana, who arrived at the Visakhaptnam airport to board a flight to Hyderabad, waited in the VIP lounge even as the chief minister was speaking to mediapersons at the airport.
Interestingly, the chief minister took the 7 pm flight and Botcha the 7.30 pm flight.