Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various developmental projects worth more than Rs 16,800 crore in Deoghar today (12 July).

As a key step to provide direct connectivity to Baba Baidyanath Dham, an important Hindu religious destination for devotees from all over the country, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Deoghar Airport.

Sri Vaidyanatha Jyotirlinga temple, also known as Baba Baidyanath Dham in Jharkhand, is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas.

Deoghar airport, the second one in Jharkhand, was constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 400 crore. The airport's Terminal Building is equipped to handle over five lakh passengers annually.

The flight from Deoghar to Kolkata started today, and soon flights for Ranchi, Delhi and Patna are planned from this airport. Also, the union government plans to upgrade airports at Bokaro and Dumka in Jharkhand.

"With the blessings of Baba Baidyanath, projects worth more than Rs 16,000 crore have been inaugurated and the foundation stone has been laid today. These are going to give a huge impetus to Jharkhand's modern connectivity, energy, health, faith and tourism," PM Modi said.

"Today the benefits of the efforts of the government are visible across the country. About 70 new locations have been added through airports, heliports and water aerodromes in the last 5-6 years under the UDAN scheme. Today, ordinary citizens are getting the facility of air travel on more than 400 new routes. More than 1 crore people have experienced very affordable air travel, many for the first time," he added.