DEHRADUN: Helicopter operators suspended Char Dham charter services on Monday in protest against the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority's (UCADA) co-pilot rule, a move likely to disrupt the final leg of the pilgrimage before the shrines close for winter.
In a letter to UCADA on Sunday, the operators had said they would stop the services from November 2 unless the order was withdrawn.
A senior UCADA official confirmed on Monday morning that choppers are currently ferrying pilgrims back from the Char Dham shrines, while no pilgrims are being flown up from Dehradun. A meeting is under way between representatives of the chopper companies, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and UCADA, after which the next course of action will be decided, the official said.
UCADA announced on Saturday that a co-pilot would be mandatory for all choppers flying on the Char Dham yatra route. The decision followed a chopper crash near Joshimath in Chamoli district on October 30, in which six people died.
The operators said they could not accept the mandatory twin-pilot requirement "in its present form", and argued that imposing it "without adequate consultation with the operators and assessment of its commercial and operational implications" would make operations "financially unviable for all operators".
"The mandatory deployment of two pilots on every charter sortie will substantially increase operating costs, crew requirements, accommodation and logistical expenses, and overall operational commitments. Given the existing commercial structure, prevailing charter rates and limited operational margins, these additional costs cannot be reasonably absorbed by the operators. Nor is it commercially feasible to pass on the entire additional burden to customers," their letter to the DGCA said.
The operators said any additional safety-related measures "must be practical, proportionate, commercially sustainable and developed in consultation with the operating stakeholders".
The Gangotri shrine is scheduled to close for winter on November 10, Kedarnath and Yamunotri on November 11 and Badrinath on November 16.
(With inputs from PTI and media reports)