Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam BJP president and MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday said he has submitted a proposal to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu for setting up an airport for Sabarimala pilgrims in the state.

In a Facebook post, Chandrasekhar said he met the union minister and submitted the proposal put forward by senior party leaders Kummanam Rajasekharan and Anoop Antony.

The proposal called for discussions with the state government and an examination of around 3,000 acres of land at Kodumon Estate in Pathanamthitta district for the proposed airport.

It also sought a feasibility study of the land, located near Pampa, under the Greenfield Airports Policy, he said.

Chandrasekhar said pilgrims arriving in Sabarimala from different parts of the country and abroad currently have to land at Kochi or Thiruvananthapuram airports and travel for several hours by road.

Realisation of an airport near Sabarimala would make the journey easier for pilgrims and benefit expatriate families in Pathanamthitta as well as the wider pilgrimage region, he said.

Referring to improved air connectivity to pilgrimage centres such as Shirdi and Tirupati, Chandrasekhar said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had demonstrated how connectivity could support the development of such destinations.

"Our aim is to provide Sabarimala pilgrims with world-class travel facilities of the same standard," he said.