Speed up construction of nine heliports, Himachal CM Sukhvinder Sukhu urges Jyotiraditya Scindia

Shimla, January 5

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today urged the Central Government to expedite the expansion of the runway at the Gaggal airport in Kangra district. He called on Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in New Delhi and discussed with him the proposed expansion of the Kangra airport runway from 1,376 metres to 3,010 metres to enable the operation of A320 aircraft. He said, “Necessary directions be given to the Airports Authority of India for starting the runway expansion work. The state government will start the land acquisition process at the earliest.”

Sukhu said that the state government intended to construct heliports in all district headquarters as well as tribal areas to give a fillip to tourism. He also urged Scindia to speed up the process for the construction of nine proposed heliports in Himachal in the first phase. He added that these heliports were important for boosting tourism in tribal and remote areas as well as providing emergency medical services and evacuation of local people and tourists from snow-bound areas.

He discussed the issue of making the Sanjauli heliport operational with the Union Minister and requested him to start additional flights from Chandigarh to Kullu. He said that at present, three flights were operational for Shimla, four from Dharamsala but only one for Kullu, which was insufficient keeping in view the high tourist influx.

The Union Minister said that the proposals for heliports at Rakkad, Palampur, Chamba and Reckong Peo were being considered under the UDAAN scheme and the remaining heliports would be considered in the next phase. He directed Civil Aviation Department officers to speed up the process for making the Sanjauli heliport operational.