Helipads to be built in every district

NEW DELHI: Helipads will be constructed in every district of the country for providing help swiftly when incidents like chopper crash take place, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said here on Thursday. Discussions were going on with the state governments in this regard, he told reporters.

The recent incident of a helicopter crash in Kedarnath is unfortunate and work is on to provide immediate relief during such accidents. For this purpose it has been decided to construct a helipad in each district of the country,” he said.

“Talks are going on with 780 district collectors on the issue and a standard operating procedure has been prepared for it, the BJP leader added.

There was also a plan to construct helipads every 200-300 km along the highways and talks are on with the Union Surface Transport Ministry, Scindia said.

A heli-service will be launched with the help of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) under the scheme Sanjeevani, the minister said.

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It will provide immediate relief up to the distance of 125 km in the case of accident or other kind of emergency, he said.

Gwalior-Bengaluru flight will operate six days a week with a plane with a capacity of 90 passengers while on the seventh day a Boeing 737 with a capacity of 180 passengers will operate on the route, the minister said.

From November 15, Gwalior-Mumbai flight will start with an Airbus having a capacity of 186 passengers. It will operate four days a week, he said.

Delhi-Gwalior flight is operational every day, Scindia said, adding that his ministry can provide flight connectivity but people of the area must utilize it.

Asked for comment about Mallikarjun Kharge getting elected as new Congress president, Scindia said every party has the right to elect its president.

Source: Press Trust of India