Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat jointly flagged off Dehradun to Pithoragarh air service trial landing in Pithoragarh from Dehradun airport here on Monday. The air service is being started under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme of the Government of India and will operate between Dehradun airport and Nainisaini airstrip in Pithoragarh.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Home Minister said that extension of air service in Uttarakhand will benefit the State and nation considering the geographical features of the state and connectivity to the border regions. Such endeavours will make transport more convenient, he said.
Expressing his views, the Chief Minister said that start of this air service will help in improving the link between Garhwal and Kumaon regions while also encouraging tourism. To make transport more convenient in the State, other air services will also be started in the near future under the UDAN scheme, said Rawat. He, further, said that during the investors summit in Dehradun on October 7-8, investors had also shown interest in operating low cost air service in the State. Expansion of the air service network will soon be visible on the ground, he added.
Union Minister of State Ajay Tamta, Lok Sabha MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Minister of State for higher education Dhan Singh Rawat and MLA Pushkar Singh Dhami were aboard the flight which took off from Dehradun airport to Pithoragarh.
Vidhan Sabha speaker Premchand Agrawal, finance minister Prakash Pant, tourism minister Satpal Maharaj, MP Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Bharatiya Janata Party State president Ajay Bhatt, MLAs Harbans Kapur, Munna Singh Chauhan, Suresh Rathor, Gopal Singh Rawat and chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh among others were also present on the occasion.
At Nainisaini in Pithoragarh, the nine-seater aircraft of Heritage Aviation landed successfully at 1:20 PM. Speaking on the occasion, Tamta said that this was a momentous occasion for the people in this border region. Start of regular air service would make travel more convenient and also boost tourism.
Expressing his views, Koshyari thanked the Central and State Governments crediting their efforts for air service to such remote regions. State Minister Dhan Singh Rawat and BJP State president Ajay Bhatt also expressed their views on the occasion.