DW BUREAU / New Delhi/ Chandigarh Punjab would again shine on the international aviation sector with Halwara International airport completing very soon by Airport Authoirty of India. This assurance was given by Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Civil Aviation minister to Vikramjit Singh, Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha Punjab in meeting held at New Delhi. Major issues concerning aviation sector growth in Punjab were discussed during the meeting. Halwara being strategically located in Punjab will serve to the entire Ludhiana which is the commercial capital, Mandi Gobindgarh and Khanna which are the steel cities and the entire Malwa belt. Vikramjit Singh raised the issue of starting more international flights and cargo service from Punjab as the more than 35% traffic of Delhi airport originates from Punjab. He also raised the issue of starting more international flights from Mohali international airport and the Amritsar international airport so that the travellers don't have to go to Delhi for boarding international flight. Punjab and Punjabis are known for their travel, education, leisure and doing business abroad. He also asked the union minister to resume the flights to Bathinda, Ludhiana and Adampur airports which were discontinued during Covid. He also asked to increase the weight of the carry baggage of the passengers travelling on domestic flights connecting with international flights from 20 to 30 kgs. Vikarmjit Singh also urged the union minister to increase cargo movement from Punjab so that the farmer of Punjab is able to market his produce in the international sector. Vegetables, fruits, cereals and flowers are in big demand abroad and the farmer can fetch much more lucrative price for their crop. This would also help the farmer to move towards crop diversification and save our water table and soil nutrient also. (editor@dailyworld.in)