HP may engage pvt operator to resume Chandigarh-Shimla heli-taxi service

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government may engage a private operator to resume the Chandigarh-Shimla heli-taxi service, which was halted due to the unavailability of a state government-hired helicopter, an official said on Wednesday.

The heli-taxi will hopefully be resumed soon as talks with private operators for this purpose are already underway, Additional Chief Secretary (Tourism and Civil Aviation) Ram Subagh Singh told PTI. He said the state government may financially support the private operator for the first three-four months.

Started on June 4 this year, the Chandigarh-Shimla heli-taxi service has been halted for the last several days. Singh told PTI that the state general administration department (GAD) had hired a Pawan Hans helicopter for chief minister and VIP duty.

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This helicopter was also used for the heli-taxi service thrice a week, he said. However, the helicopter has been unavailable for some time due to a mechanical fault, he added.

According to the agreement, an alternate helicopter should have been provided by Pawan Hans, but that is also not available, Singh said.