Heli-tourism soon at 15 hilly areas: Sinha

Union Minister for State for Aviation Jayant Sinha said that his ministry was contemplating to introduce 15 helipads at 15 places in the country to improve tourism prospects.

The helipads will be established particularly in hilly areas to exploit the potential tourist destinations in the northern and north-eastern parts of the country where flights could not land.

Sinha was speaking at an interaction at a national conclave here recently. The minister credited the government for its move to enable inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the aviation sector with a cap of 49%, claiming that “no previous government had dared to do so”.

The minister said the government was revaluating the process of disinvestment in the national carrier. He said the aviation sector had a bright future and made profits to the tune of Rs 1.8 lakh crore on a par with railways and telecom sector, he stated. The government was committed to improving air connectivity in tier-II cities, including Belagavi, the minister said. Shortly, 10-15 flights will commence operations from this airport, Sinha said. A number of carriers were expressing interest and may participate in the bidding for the Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik-3 scheme. Earlier, Sinha said empowerment of people by enhancing their skills and improving their output would help in the rise of GDP.