BHOPAL: The Union Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs, Suresh Pachouri, said here on Thursday that the central Indian cities of Bhopal and Indore will now have better connectivity with Delhi and Mumbai following the inauguration of the daily A320 Airbus flight of the national carrier Indian (Indian Airlines) from Bhopal to Delhi.

The new flight was flagged off at Bhopal's Raja Bhoj airport on Thursday morning by Mr. Pachouri. Prominent among those present on the occasion were the

State Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, the State Minister for Industries and Commerce, Babulal Gaur, Bhopal Mayor Sunil Sood and the Chairman and Managing Director of Indian, Vishwapati Trivedi.

Mr. Pachouri gave full credit to Mr. Trivedi for providing better connectivity to Bhopal by launching the daily Airbus flight. He said that results are bound to be good when competent and efficient officers are at the helm of affairs.

Mr. Pachouri also had a word of praise for the State Chief Minister who he said had been extending all possible support to ensure speedy development of the State.

The Chief Minister reciprocated by saying that even Mr. Pachouri had never allowed politics to come in the way of development and had always committed to the larger cause of the State's development.

Mr. Chauhan said the State had continued to remain backward on the connectivity front. Poor air-connectivity also leaves its adverse impact when it comes to investment, he pointed out.

The Chief Minister said concerted efforts are presently on to upgrade the Bhopal and Indore airports to international airports. He expressed the hope that the private airlines would also come forward and offer better services.

The Indian CMD said Bhopal's connectivity with Delhi had been affected due to shortage of Boeing pilots. The new Airbus flight should come as a boon for businessmen frequently travelling on the Delhi-Bhopal-Indore-Mumbai circuit, he added.

Flight 1C 133 will leave Mumbai at 5-40 a.m., reach Indore at 6-45 a.m., leave Indore at 7-30 a.m. and reach Bhopal at 8 a.m. On this final leg, the flight will

leave Bhopal at 8-40 a.m. and reach Delhi at 9-50 a.m.

In the return direction, flight IC 134 will leave Delhi at 5-15 p.m., reach Bhopal at 6-25 p.m., leave Bhopal at 7-15 p.m. and reach Indore at 7-45 p.m. Leaving Indore at 8-30 p.m., the flight will arrive in Mumbai at 9-35 p.m.

With a total fleet of 73 aircrafts— 48 Airbus A320s, five Airbus A319s, three Airbus A300s, 11 Boeing 737s, four ATRs and two Dorniers, Indian connects 52 domestic and 18 international destinations, mainly in the Gulf and South-East Asia.

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