The Gaya airport art gallery started on Thursday in a room provided by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) .

Along with the gallery, a medical facility has also started at the airport, where passengers can receive first aid free of cost.

Magadh range deputy inspector-general of police Ratn Sanjay inaugurated the gallery and the medical clinic along with Gaya airport director Dilip Kumar.

Three artists - Birendra Thakur, Minesh Kumar and Kumari Nidhi - have contributed 51 pieces of art for the gallery.

Birendra and Minesh have each put up 20 pieces of their artwork. Nidhi has come up with the remaining 11 pieces.

Birendra, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Jharkhand cadre, has made wood collage.

The art form, he said, is very difficult and rare. His work has the highest price tags - between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.3 lakh.

"I have replicated the Konark wheel, Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Lord Buddha on wood," he said.

Minesh, a postgraduate in fine arts from Prachin Kala Kendra-Chandigarh, has made images of Buddha in watercolour, oil and acrylic paint. The price of his work ranges between Rs 1,000 and Rs 40,000.

Nidhi, a fine arts postgraduate from Jagatguru Ram Bhadracharya Handicapped University-Chitrakut (Uttar Pradesh) is hearing and speech impaired. She was feted as Gaya district icon during the Bihar Assembly Elections last year following efforts by the then district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal.

Her father, Yugal Kishore Mishra, is an electrician at DAV Public School.

"Her paintings are mostly on the Buddha and made from acrylic and water colours. The pieces are waterproof," said Mishra.

Nidhi's creations are priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000.

"The gallery started with three artists but more artists will be invited if they are interested," said Dilip Kumar.

"The artists have fixed the prices of their work and AAI will keep 10 per cent of the amount. The artists can take the rest as remuneration. This is an effort to boost promising artists."

At least four to six flights operate from the airport daily. The city also hosts many foreign tourists.

"Tourists will be enlightened about the Indian culture through the gallery. If they purchase the art, the creators will also get remuneration for their talent. Residents can also visit the gallery upon purchase of a ticket for Rs 30 ," said Dilip Kumar.

"Very soon Swagat Seva will start a custom and immigration clearance facility where work will be carried out in a faster and easier manner . Besides, we will also hire interpreters to communicate with foreign tourists in their native languages," said the official.

Abhay Institute of Medical Sciences director and cardiologist A.N. Rai has agreed to be part of the medical facility at the airport.

"Earlier, we had to call a doctor from Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital or send passengers there in case they came with a health issue," the airport directorsaid.

"Now that the facility is available at the airport, the problem will be solved. If needed, the patient will be shifted to Abhay Institute of Medical Sciences for better treatment."