Dehradun: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday inaugurated the ‘Passenger Terminal Bhawan’ built at Sahastradhara heliport and launched ‘Dehradun-Almora Helicopter Service’. On this occasion, the Chief Minister announced the start of air service from Sahastradhara heliport for three new places Yamunotri, Gauchar and Joshiyada in the state. These will be operated under the Chief Minister Udan Khatola Yojana under Uttarakhand Air Connectivity. On this occasion, the Chief Minister also interacted with the passengers connected virtually from Almora.
The Chief Minister said that the state government was trying for this air service for a long time and today Sahastradhara helipad has also been expanded in Dehradun. He said that even before the start of Almora-Dehradun service, services to Chinyalisaur, Gauchar, Munsiyari, Srinagar, Haldwani, Pithoragarh are already running in the state. These services will definitely benefit everyone.
The Chief Minister said that under the Udaan scheme, the heli service between Dehradun and Almora will promote tourism, economy, employment and self-employment, while our women power who are making products will also definitely benefit from it. The Chief Minister said that along with better connectivity, this service will also bring a better change in the lives of all of us.
The Chief Minister said that Almora is one of the ancient cities of the state. It has its own historical and cultural importance. Jageshwar Dham, Chitai Goljyu Ka Sthan, Katarmal Surya Mandir, there are many such places here which are the center of faith of the people and are here. Important places like Nanda Devi Temple also make Almora special. He said that with this heli service, tourists will now be able to go to Almora easily. Till now this journey by road was a bit longer but with the start of this service, people will now find it easier.
The Chief Minister said that today under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, air services in the country are being modernized as well as indigenized, on the other hand, common citizens should also get this service, especially for a state like ours with difficult geographical conditions, these heli services are very important. There was a time when rail service was given priority in the entire country but for some time now, air service has become a major mode of transport and it is also becoming very popular among the people.
The Chief Minister said that all this has been possible due to the long-term thinking of the Prime Minister. He said that this terminal was expanded in a very wonderful way. It was established during the disaster. With the guidance of the Prime Minister and the cooperation of the Government of India, the Civil Aviation Department of the state has done efficiently in this area.
The Chief Minister said that under the ‘Udaan’ scheme of the Government of India, good service is being provided in various areas of the state. The state government is trying to provide every kind of facility to pilgrims and tourists in the coming times and our air service has the most important role in this. He said that we are also making Jolly Grant Airport of international standard. New terminals have already been inaugurated there. Today air services are running from Jolly Grant to all the major cities of the country. Along with this, more than 800 acres of land has been transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the expansion of Pantnagar Airport. All its processes have been completed. The Chief Minister said that during his meeting with the Prime Minister, he requested that our airstrip of Chinyalisaur should also be operated properly. Apart from this, trial landing is being done for Pithoragarh. Two trial landings have been done from Delhi to Pithoragarh and one more landing will be done, it will be a big task. He said that after the Prime Minister’s visit to Adi Kailash, Jageshwar Dham, the number of pilgrims is continuously increasing there. He said that the state government is working with determination to expand the heli services in the state as much as possible. The newly constructed passenger terminal building at Sahastradhara heliport is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. This building has been designed keeping in mind the ever-increasing number of passengers at present. The government has invested Rs 2482.96 lakh in its construction. This building has a seating capacity of about 400 passengers at a time. In which many modern facilities have been included for the convenience of passengers. Service will be provided on this route through double engine helicopter of M/s Pawan Hans Limited. With this scheme, common citizens / tourists of Uttarakhand state, especially Kumaon region, will get the benefit of helicopter service at cheap rates. This helicopter service will operate 06 days a week, the fare of which has been fixed at Rs 4989 per person, which will take about 55 minutes. On this occasion, Union Minister of State Ajay Tamta, Cabinet Ministers Satpal Maharaj, Premchand Aggarwal, Ganesh Joshi, Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal, MLAs Khajan Das, Umesh Sharma Kau, Savita Kapoor, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey, UCADA CEO Sonika, Almora MLA Manoj Tiwari and Almora District Magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey were present through virtual medium.
