Helicopter woes: After Arunachal tragedy,Dhumal tells GAD to take due precautions

Particularly against single-engine choppers,Dhumal had a twin-engine Italian AgustaWestland AW139,the personal helicopter of Congress MP and Haryana industrialist Naveen Jindal,hired for flying to Haripurdhar on Wednesday. From Shimla,Haripurdhar is nearly 220 kilometre by road on a tough terrain.

With the Jagson Airlines helicopter taken on ‘wet lease’ by the state earlier this year grounded on the orders of the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) two months ago,Himachal Pradesh does not have an official helicopter at present to fly its VVIPs to remote and inaccessible areas. The CM had been initially using a single-engine small helicopter as an alternative. But after Khandu’s chopper went missing,the CM’s office wrote a strong note to the General Administration Department (GAD) to arrange a “safe and bigger” helicopter.

“The helicopter (AW 139) was hired only for a day and their charges were very high — around Rs 1.9 lakh per hour. But it was an extremely safe machine,” said a top GAD officer.

Arun Sharma,Director,Tourism and Civil Aviation,said: “We have been taking extra care about safety aspects of helicopter flights,including those undertaken in the tribal areas of Lahaul-Spiti,Bharmaur and Pangi during winter months. There cannot be any compromise.”

Caught on the wrong foot after hiring Jagson Airlines” 26-seater helicopter,the government has already served a notice to the company. “By May 19,the company has to submit its replies. We desperately need a helicopter and may invite fresh tenders,after terminating the agreement with Jagson,” said a GAD official.

According to reports,the company was flying the helicopter without meeting adequate “safety” norms prescribed by the DGCA.

“The kind of information we have from the DGCA could land the company in big trouble as it provided a helicopter for VVIP travels without taking due care of the safety parameters. Yet,the GAD will wait for their replies before the next course of action,” said Sharma.

Though Dhumal usually travels by road,he says helicopter is a necessity during emergencies and when he is on a tight schedule and has to travel to far-flung places to where a road journey takes a long time.

“The government has to take care of several factors,including the affordability to acquire a helicopter on lease,beside safety and regularity. I have told the officials to take steps for alternatives,” said Dhumal.

Jagson had quoted the lowest rate of Rs 1.32 lakh per hour,much lower than what the government was earlier paying to Mesco,whose agreement had expired last year.

Last month,when the Opposition Congress had complained about non-availability of helicopter for tribal flights,Dhumal categorically announced that the government would not compromise with safety standards and put the lives of people in danger,saying Himachal needed to be more careful because of its tough terrains and unpredictable weather conditions.

Himachal has a history of a plane crash in 1994,which claimed the lives of the then Punjab governor Surendra Nath and his entire family.