Bachhaud (Narnaul), January 31
This non-descript village located in the backwaters of Haryana today got the country’s first aero sports centre, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, at the local airstrip this afternoon.

The Congress MP and Aero Club of India president, Capt Satish Sharma, presided over the inaugural ceremony marked by exciting live demonstrations of aero sports, including para-jumping, skydiving, para-sailing, hot-air ballooning, aero-modeling and motor-gliding etc.

The centre, named after the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been set up by the Department of Civil Aviation, Haryana, in collaboration with the Aero Club of India.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Hooda maintained that it was a matter of pride for the state that it had got the country’s first-ever centre of its kind. He asserted that the underlying idea behind establishing the centre was to get the state’s youth trained in adventurous aero sports.

“In the beginning, the youth will be imparted training in para-jumping, para-sailing, gliding, hot-air ballooning and micro-light flying at the centre,” he said, adding that more adventurous sports would be added later.

The Chief Minister pointed out that three centres of the Civil Aviation Department were functioning at Karnal, Pinjore and Hisar, which had been training the state youth to serve in the air services in the country as well as abroad.

More facilities would also be provided at the air strips of Pinjore, Narnaul, Hisar and Bhiwani, he added. Capt Satish Sharma appreciated the cooperation extended by Hooda in setting up this centre. He announced that a hangar at the centre as well as a road to connect the village with the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway No.8 would soon be constructed.

On the request of local MLA Anita Yadav, the Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs 1 crore each for the development of Mirzapur and Bachhaud villages, which have provided the land for the centre.

Hooda also announced a special grant of Rs 51,000 for Monu, a Class XII girl of Bachhaud village, who performed a courageous para-sailing demonstration before the gathering, from his discretionary fund. The schoolchildren also presented a group song and a Haryanavi dance.

The Congress MP from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh, Shruti Chaudhary, who was also present on the occasion, thanked the Chief Minister for getting the centre set up in the district.

The state Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, OP Jain, Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rao Daan Singh were also present.