Bhubaneswar, May 7: The Odisha government today urged the Centre to reintroduce the flight between Bhubaneswar and Varanasi and extend two special trains to the state to facilitate travel of Buddhist tourists.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik made the request during his meeting with Union tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahay in New Delhi today.

Naveen said the flight between Bhubaneswar and Varanasi, which was discontinued in 1994, should be reintroduced at the earliest, so that it could facilitate the travel of both national and international Buddhist tourists to Odisha.

The chief minister urged the Union minister to extend the Maharaja’s Express Classical India Train to cover important destinations of the Buddhist circuit of Odisha. The Mohaparai Nirvan Special Train, which covers Bihar, UP and Delhi, should also include Odisha as a destination, he said.

Naveen also stressed on the need to implement the light-and-sound show at Udaygiri on priority basis. A revised proposal to this effect, submitted by the Indian Tourism Development Corporation, was pending with the Union tourism ministry, he said.

Multimedia laser shows should also be sanctioned for Dhauli and Konark, said Naveen.