The helicopter service to the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand is set to become nearly 40 percent more expensive once the government lifts the current ban.
The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) has approved fare hikes for heli service providers, with ticket prices expected to rise by 31 to 40 percent from the Guptkashi, Sirsi, and Phata helipads,the primary points for flights to Kedarnath.
This increase comes as the state government prepares to resume helicopter services for the Kedarnath pilgrimage after Diwali, ahead of the shrine’s winter closure.
Heli service to the Kedarnath shrine is taken mainly from the Guptkashi, Sirsi, and Phata helipads. UCADA’s move to allow heli-service providers to hike their ticket prices is being seen as an added financial burden on pilgrims.
A series of helicopter mishaps in the months of May and June had forced the Uttarakhand government, UCADA, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to halt flights to the Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Badrinath shrines for the entire monsoon season.
Four helicopter accidents that took place are largely attributed to poor weather. However, with the monsoon season ending, UCADA plans to restart services on September 15, pending DGCA approval, with online ticket bookings opening on IRCTC from September 10.
The new fare structure finalised by the UCADA, will see round-trip tickets from Guptkashi to Kedarnath rise from Rs 8,500 to Rs 12,444 (around a 40 percent increase), from Sirsi to Kedarnath jump from Rs 6,500 to Rs 8,900 (a 37 percent hike), and from Phata to Kedarnath increase from Rs 6,500 to Rs 8,500 (about 31 percent higher).
UCADA CEO Ashish Chauhan emphasized that, to ensure passenger safety in the resumed heli services, which were suspended after June 16 for the entire monsoon season, several new measures will be implemented, including the installation of remotely controlled Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) robotic cameras, a modern Air Traffic Control system, advanced VHF communication sets for improved weather monitoring, and laser-based ceilometers to gauge cloud ceiling heights.
Apart from this, the UCADA CEO informed that two control rooms, one each at Sahastradhara in Dehradun and Sirsi in Rudraprayag, will be set up, each with a team of 22 ground control operators, to ensure rapid communication and efficient monitoring of heli services as they resume.