U'khand CM launches four new helicopter services from Dehradun, Haldwani routes

Dehradun, Mar 11 (PTI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhamni launched four new helicopter services on Tuesday to further improve air connectivity from here, an official statement said.

These four helicopter services started under the 'Udaan' scheme will connect Dehradun to Nainital, Dehradun to Bageshwar, Dehradun to Mussoorie and Haldwani to Bageshwar.

After flagging off these helicopter services, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that these heli services will give a boost to tourism and economic development in the state and better connectivity will bring positive changes in the lives of locals.

Describing Bageshwar, Nainital and Mussoorie as culturally and spiritually important, the chief minister said that the natural beauty, serene valleys, lush green mountains, historical temples and rich culture of these areas attract tourists from the country and the world.

He said, "With the introduction of heli services, tourists will now be able to reach these areas more easily to enjoy the natural and cultural heritage." Dhami said that 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 disaster.

He said, "Earlier it used to take several hours to travel to the mountains, but now air service will save time. Also, this facility will prove to be a boon in emergency situations." Dhami said that under the 'Udaan' scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enable the common man to travel by air, airstrips and heliports have been developed in many parts of the state. He said that work is being done towards operating heli services from 18 heliports in the state, out of which services have been successfully started at 12 heliports so far.

So far, important areas like Gauchar, Srinagar, Chinyalisaur, Haldwani, Munsiyari, Pithoragarh, Pantnagar, Champawat and Almora have been successfully connected with these heli services.

On this occasion, Dhami also interacted with the passengers travelling by heli services through online mediums.

These heli services will operate seven days a week. The service between Dehradun-Mussoorie will have a seating facility for five passengers, while the services started for the remaining places will have a seating facility for seven people.

Heli services from Dehradun to Bageshwar, Nainital and Haldwani to Bageshwar will operate seven days a week and twice a day, while the Dehradun-Mussoorie service will operate one flight per day in the first month, which will be decided to be extended further based on the number of passengers.

Heli service between Dehradun to Nainital, Bageshwar and Haldwani to Bageshwar will be operated by Heritage Aviation Private Limited while services between Dehradun to Mussoorie will be provided by Rajas Airport and Adventure Private Limited.

The fare from Dehradun to Nainital is Rs 4500 per passenger, the fare from Dehradun to Bageshwar is Rs 4000 per passenger, the fare from Haldwani to Bageshwar is Rs 3500 per passenger while the fare from Dehradun to Mussoorie has been fixed at Rs 2578 per passenger, as per the official statement. PTI DPT HIG HIG