Bengaluru, Feb 7: Bidar on Friday was put on the aviation map of India after the first direct flight from the city to Bengaluru under the UDAN scheme was launched by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola.

TruJet will operate the daily flight to and from Bidar and Bengaluru.

It will leave Bengaluru at 11.40 AM and reach Bidar at 1.05 PM.

The return flight will leave Bidar at 1.25 PM and reach Bengaluru at 3.15 PM, an official release said.

It said the airport has been remodeled at a cost of Rs 11 crore under the union government's Regional Connectivity Scheme-Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN)

The cost was shared jointly by the state and central government, it said.

Kharola said the newly built airport inks the "commitment and perseverance" of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to establish substantial air connectivity in India.

The inauguration of Bidar airport marks the operationalisation of the eighth airport in the Karnataka region, said the press release.

Prior to Bidar, flight services from Kalaburagi to Bengaluru had been started last year.

The release said MoCA undertook the task of remodeling Bidar Air Force Station for commercial aviation purposes as people frequently had to undertake a 11 hour journey by either train or bus to Bengaluru for all administrative work.

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Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday demanded that the Centre immediately roll back the recent steep hike in LPG prices, alleging that it has severely impacted common people and small businesses.

In a statement, Vijayan described the increase as "one of the most cruel" in the history of cooking gas price revisions, saying it has pushed ordinary households and entrepreneurs into distress.

He said the price of commercial LPG cylinders had been raised by Rs 993 in one go, crossing Rs 3,000, which would adversely affect the hotel and restaurant sector.

The hike in the price of 5-kg LPG cylinders by Rs 251.50 would hit migrant workers and small families who depend on them, he added.

The chief minister alleged that the hike came immediately after the conclusion of Assembly elections in states, placing an additional burden on common people, small-scale entrepreneurs and migrant labourers.

Pointing to the ongoing crisis in West Asia, Vijayan said the hospitality sector has already been facing a shortage of cooking gas for months and the latest price increase would be difficult to absorb.

The burden would ultimately be passed on to consumers, he said, warning that several small establishments, including those in Kerala, could be forced to shut down.

Accusing oil companies of prioritising profits over public welfare, he said such a trend of imposing additional financial burden on people cannot be accepted.

Vijayan also alleged that the Centre's policies favour corporate interests and called for a correction in approach.

He urged the Union government to withdraw the excessive hike without delay.

The price of commercial LPG was hiked by the steepest ever Rs 993 per 19-kg cylinder on May 1, marking the third straight monthly increase due to rising global energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict.