In a major development, the Capital is all set to get its first heliport — a dedicated airport for choppers — by the first week of July. Built by the Pawan Hans Helicopters ltd (PHHl) at Sector 36 in Rohini, the heliport is likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Since Delhi faces major traffic snarls, the heli-service will help commuters to commute quickly to the neighbouring States. It will also help those who want to go for pilgrimage to Vaishno Devi in Jammu & Kashmir. According to sources, a delegation of Parlimentary Committee headed by KD Singh recently took stock of the ongoing work at the heliport. Sources said that Parliamentary Committee delegation was satisfied with the progress of the project and it is likely to be dedicated airport for choppers by June 30.
Source said that about 16 Pawan Hans helicopters will be deployed at the heliport. Passengers can book these helicopters for Vaishno Devi and other neighbouring States. The air service will be available for the NCR cities.
A North Delhi businessman said that he frequently visited Aligarh and Ajmer, but due to massive traffic on these corridors, he had to cut short several of his business meetings. “Once helicopter service is available, I can visit both the places for my business meetings,” he said.
There are reportedly plans to set up heliports in Kanpur, Patna, lucknow, Ranchi, Aligarh, Meerut, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Ajmer, Bhatinda and ludhiana.
A family in South Delhi said that this was a welcome move as it would help them to easily travel to nearby hill stations. “Now I can plan my small vacation to Uttrakhand,” a housewife told The Pioneer. “last year, I was keen to pay pilgrimage to Vaishno Delvi. But due to lack of any such facility, I had dropped the idea. Now I can also visit Mata Vaishno Devi.”
The source said the Government is likely to give subsidy in air fare to make the heli-services popular and successful. Pawan Hans had acquired 25 acres in Rohini from DDA for Rs19.7 crore a few years ago. The chopper major had got the feasibility report prepared from RITES for the Rs63-crore project.