Helicopter sent for repair, heli service halted

Dehradun: The heli service from Haldwani to Pithoragarh, Champawat and Munsiyari, which was started four months ago, has been stalled for three days. Due to this, people going from plain areas to remote areas of the mountains are facing problems. Whereas Pithoragarh, Champawat and Munsiyari could be reached in a few hours by air travel, now this distance is being covered in several hours by road.

The government, in collaboration with Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority, had started air services to Champawat, Pithoragarh and Munsiyari from the helipad located at Gaulapar on 22 February this year. Local people and tourists were benefiting from this. Heli service was also getting passengers regularly for all the three places, but this service is not operating for the last three days due to which people and tourists are facing problems. Even before this, when there was a fire in the forests of Kumaon, the heli service was closed for several days due to poor visibility. Later, when the visibility improved, the heli service was started again for Pithoragarh and Champawat. .Nodal Officer and SDM of Heli Service, Paritosh Verma said that the helicopter was flying continuously for the last several days, hence it has been sent for maintenance. The service will be resumed after repairs.