Air service will start from Sahastradhara heliport for 3 new places- Yamunotri, Gauchar & Joshiyada in the state: Chief Minister Dhami

*Air service will start from Sahastradhara heliport for 3 new places- Yamunotri, Gauchar & Joshiyada in the state: Chief Minister Dhami*

*They will be operated under the Chief Minister’s Udan Khatola Scheme under Uttarakhand Air Connectivity.*

*Chief Minister Dhami inaugurated the ‘Passenger Terminal Building’ built at Sahastradhara heliport.*

*Also inaugurated the ‘Dehradun-Almora Helicopter Service’.*

Uttatakhand’s Chief Minister (CM) Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday inaugurated the ‘Passenger Terminal Building’ built at Sahastradhara heliport, and launched the ‘Dehradun-Almora Helicopter Service’. On this occasion, he announced the start of air service from Sahastradhara heliport for 3 new places- Yamunotri, Gauchar & Joshiyada in the state. They will be operated under the “Mukhyamantri Udan Khatola Scheme” under Uttarakhand Air Connectivity. On this occasion, CM Dhami also interacted with the passengers connected virtually from Almora.

CM Dhami said that the state government was trying for this air service for a long time & today the Sahastradhara helipad in Dehradun has also been expanded. He said that even before the start of Almora-Dehradun service, services of Chinyalisaur, Gauchar, Munsiyari, Srinagar, Haldwani, Pithoragarh are running in the state. Everyone will definitely benefit from these services.

Chief Minister Dhami said that under the “Udan scheme”, the heli service between Dehradun to Almora will promote tourism, economy, employment & self-employment on one hand, while our women power which is making products, will also benefit from it. He said that along with better connectivity, this service will also work to bring a better change in our lives.

• CM Dhami said that Almora is one of the ancient cities of the state. It has its own historical & cultural importance. Jageshwar Dham, Chitai Golju Devta ka Sthan, Katarmal Surya Mandir are many such places here which are the center of faith of the people. 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 long but with the start of this service, people will now be able to get convenience.

Chief Minister Dhami said that today, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, 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 having difficult geographical conditions, these heli services are very important. There was a time when rail service was given priority in the whole country but for some time now, air service has become a major mode of transport & it is also becoming very popular among the people. CM Dhami said that all this has been possible due to the long-term thinking of Prime Minister Modi ji. He said that this terminal was expanded in a very wonderful way. It was established during the disaster. With the guidance of Prime Minister Modi ji & the support of Government of India, the Civil Aviation Department of the state has worked efficiently in this field.

CM Dhami said that under the “Udaan” scheme of 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 the devotees & tourists in the coming time; 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.

Chief Minister Dhami said that during the meeting with Prime Minister Modi ji, 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 & one more landing will be done, which will be a big achievement. He said that after the Prime Minister’s visit to Adi Kailash, Jageshwar Dham, the number of devotees is continuously increasing there. He said that the state government is working with determination to expand 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. At present, this building has been designed keeping in mind the ever-increasing number of passengers. The government has invested ₹ 2,482.96 lakh in its construction. This building has a seating capacity of about 400 passengers at a time. In it, many modern facilities have been included for the convenience of passengers. Service will be provided on this route through M/s Pawan Hans Limited’s double engine helicopter. With this scheme, the common citizens/tourists of Uttarakhand, especially Kumaon region, will get the benefit of helicopter service at cheap rates. This helicopter service will operate 6 days a week, the fare for which has been fixed at ₹ 4,989 per person, which will take approximately 55 minutes.

On this occasion, Union Minister of State Mr. Ajay Tamta, Cabinet Minister Mr. Satpal Maharaj, Mr. Premchand Aggarwal, Mr. Ganesh Joshi, Rajya Sabha MP Mr. Naresh Bansal, MLA Mr. Khajan Das, Mr. Umesh Sharma Kau, Mrs. Savita were present.