19 paragliding pilots from Jammu leave for Himachal to attend advance course

Jammu, Sept 20 (PTI) A group of 19 paragliding pilots from Jammu on Saturday left for Himachal Pradesh for an advanced course on the recreational and competitive adventure sport, officials said.

The directorate of tourism, Jammu, is sponsoring the group for the P4 paragliding course being held in collaboration with the Atal Bihari Institute of Mountaineering, Manali, an official spokesman said.

The course designed to provide advanced training and skill enhancement lessons to the participants is scheduled from September 20 to October 27 in three phases, the spokesman said.

The 19 paragliders have already completed their P1, P2, P3 course from the National Institute of Mountaineering and are heading towards their last and final P4 or SIV course from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports.

The P4 training course will be conducted at Bilaspur (Govind Sagar Lake) and Bir-billing, considered Asia's best in class institute for paragliding and related activities, the spokesman said.

Tourism director Vikas Gupta, who flagged off the group from here, said the initiative is a step towards promoting adventure tourism and creating new opportunities of self-employment and professional growth for the local youth.

The tourism department is committed to upgrade adventure sport infrastructure in the region, he said.

The upcoming paragliding site at Aithem in Jammu will provide a platform for the local youth to fly solo and in tandem, providing opportunities to the adventure enthusiasts of Jammu, joint director Aijaz Qaiser said. PTI TAS ARI