By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 11 Mar: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami flagged off four new heli-services here today. Through these services, air connectivity has been established from Dehradun to Nainital, Bageshwar, Mussoorie and Haldwani to Bageshwar. Speaking on the occasion, the CM noted that these four heli-services have been started under the “Udaan” scheme and that they will give a fresh impetus to tourism and economic development in the state. He also observed that better connectivity will bring positive changes in the lives of local people.
Dhami observed that Bageshwar, Nainital and Mussoorie are also important from cultural and spiritual points of view and that the natural beauty, serene valleys, lush green mountains, historic temples and rich culture of these areas attract tourists from all over the country and the world. He reminded that Nainital is famous for its picturesque lakes, religious places like Naina Devi Shaktipeeth and Kainchi Dham while, Bageshwar, located at the holy confluence of the Saryu and Gomti rivers, is known for the sacred Bagnath temple and the Uttarayani fair. With the start of the heli-services, tourists who want to enjoy the natural and cultural heritage of these areas will now be able to reach there even more easily.
The CM noted that it takes about 8 to 10 hours by road to reach these places from Dehradun but with the start of this service, this journey will be reduced to about 1 hour. In the case of emergencies, the people living in these areas will get a lot of help.
Dhami also stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had started the Udan scheme with the aim of enabling the common person to travel by air. This scheme has contributed significantly to strengthening air connectivity in the state. Under this scheme, airstrips and heliports have been developed in many parts of the state and work is also being done towards operating heli-services from 18 heliports in the state, out of which services have already been successfully started at 12 heliports, so far.
Dhami further reminded that, so far, important places like Gauchar, Srinagar, Chinyalisaur, Haldwani, Munsiyari, Pithoragarh, Pantnagar, Champawat and Almora have been successfully connected with these heli services. He said that these heli services will not only facilitate transportation in the state but will also act as a lifeline for the remote and inaccessible areas of the state in times of natural calamity.
The CM asserted that the government is constantly working to promote domestic flights to further strengthen air connectivity in the state as well as to expand to international flights with the aim of establishing Uttarakhand as a major destination at the global level.
On the occasion of the launch of these heli services, the CM also interacted with the people travelling by them on a virtual basis. MLAs, other public representatives and local people of the areas expressed their gratitude to CM Dhami for launching these services.
Cabinet Minister Ganesh Joshi, MLA Umesh Sharma ‘Kau’, Khajan Das, Savita Kapoor, Brij Bhushan Gairola, Mayor Saurabh Thapliyal, Principal Secretary RK Sudhanshu, Secretary Sachin Kurve, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey, Chief Executive Officer, UCADA, Sonika. MLAs Suresh Gadiya, Parvati Das, Ram Singh Kaida and other public representatives registered their presence in virtual mode.
It may be recalled that the fares for these heli services have also been fixed. Heli service from Dehradun to Mussoorie will be operated under the Uttarakhand Air Connectivity Scheme, while the remaining three heli services will be operated under the Regional Connectivity Scheme of the Central Government. A five-seater helicopter will provide services between Dehradun-Mussoorie, while seven-seater helicopter services will be provided for the remaining places. Heli service from Dehradun to Bageshwar, Nainital and Haldwani to Bageshwar will operate twice a day, seven days a week, while the Mussoorie-Dehradun heli service will operate one flight per day in the first month.
The fare for the Dehradun-Nainital chopper service has been fixed at Rs 4,500 per passenger. This flight will operate twice a day. It will take off from Dehradun at 8:15 a.m. and at 2:25 p.m. while from Nainital it will take off at 9:10 a.m. and at 3:20 p.m.
The fare of the chopper flight between Dehradun and Mussoorie has been fixed at Rs 2,578 per passenger, but the schedule has not been declared as yet.
The fare between Dehradun and Bageshwar has been fixed at Rs 4,000 per passenger and the flight from Dehradun will take off at 10:20 a.m. and at 12:30 p.m. while it will take off from Bageshwar 11:10 a.m. and at 1:20 p.m.
The fare of the chopper service between Haldwani and Bageshwar has been fixed at Rs 3,500 per passenger. The chopper flight from Haldwani will take off at 8:30 a.m. and at 2:45 p.m., while from Bageshwar it will take off at 9 a.m. and at 3 p.m.
