With its tougher geographical terrain being extremely vulnerable to natural calamity and thus continuously remaining a challenge to surface connectivity as is experienced during rainy season every year, the State Government is now weighing some other options like strengthening air transport services in hilly regions of the Kumaon division to make its response time quicker at least during crisis times like natural disaster or any eventuality.
Under this ambitious plan of making mobility swift, the State Government is going to construct three helipads i.e. two in Nainital district and one in Almora this year. Out of the two proposed helipads one has to be constructed each at Haldwani and Nainital. Similarly, the State Government has also decided to construct one helipad in Almora. The UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN) has been assigned the task of constructing these aforesaid helipads. These three helipads have to be constructed at a cost of about Rs5 crore.
Now the process is on to construct these three helipads at Haldwani, Nainital and Almora, said C K Saklani, Project Manager, UPRNN, while talking to The Pioneer in an exclusive interview. Hopefully, the helipads would be prepared in due course of time as the necessary formalities have been completed in this regard, Saklani expressed hope. It is to note that presently there is no proper air base equipped with all necessary modern facilities except the Pantnagar air port in the Kumaon division. The matter of concern is that in the absence of poor connectivity both in terms of surface and air in this region particularly in hill areas, people still have to rely on narrow by-foot lanes to visit remote areas and more importantly, to approach the strategically important Himalayan border with Tibet via Pithorgarh.
However, it is hoped that as the officials concerned have said, with the Naini-Saini airstrip in the border district Pithoragarh going to be ready by early next year, air transport services may be improved in this Himalayan sector of Uttarakhand.
The interesting fact is that while the under construction Naini-Saini airstrip in the Pithoragarh district is going to be strategically important in view of the international border with Tibet on the Himalayan front, these proposed helipads in Nainital and Almora districts won’t be less important to extend prompt relief to the needy people particularly during the rainy season when road connectivity remains badly disrupted and more importantly, to strengthen mobility even in the remote areas.