PIONEER NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
Chief ninister Pushkar Singh Dhami flagged off four helicopter services connecting Dehradun to Nainital, Bageshwar and Mussoorie and Haldwani to Bageshwar on Tuesday.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that these four helicopter services have been started under the UDAN scheme and they will give impetus to tourism and economic development in the State.
He said that better connectivity will bring positive changes in the lives of the local people. Dhami said that Bageshwar, Nainital and Mussoorie are important centres from a cultural and spiritual point of view.
Nainital is famous for its picturesque lakes, famous religious places like Naina Devi Shaktipeeth and Kainchi Dham. Bageshwar, located at the confluence of Saryu and Gomti rivers, is known for Bagnath temple and the famous Uttarayani fair.
The CM said that with the start of the heli service, tourists enjoying the natural and cultural heritage of these areas will now be able to reach here even more easily.
Dhami said that at present it takes about eight to 10 hours by road to reach these places from Dehradun, with the start of the heli service, this journey will be reduced to about one hour.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started the Udaan scheme with the aim of enabling the common man to travel by air. Under the scheme air strips and heliports have been developed in many parts of the state. The CM said that the government is constantly working to promote domestic flights to further strengthen air connectivity in the State as well as expand international flights with the aim of establishing Uttarakhand as a major destination at the global level.
On the occasion Dhami also interacted with the people traveling through these services through virtual medium. Cabinet Minister Ganesh Joshi, MLAs Umesh Sharma Kau, Khajan Das, Savita Kapoor, Brij Bhushan Gairola, Mayor of Dehradun Saurabh Thapliyal, principal secretary RK Sudhanshu, secretary Sachin Kurve, Garhwal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey, chief executive officer UCADA Sonika and others attended the programme.
The heli service from Dehradun to Mussoorie will operate under the Uttarakhand air connectivity scheme, while the remaining three heli services are being operated under the central government’s regional connectivity scheme.
