6k tickets cancelled, Kedarnath choppers to be grounded till Sept 15
Dehradun: Chopper operations to Kedarnath remained suspended for the seventh straight day on Saturday after a crash killed seven people on June 15, grounding eight operators, cancelling thousands of bookings and causing financial losses over Rs 4 crore in Rudraprayag district.
Sources said helicopter services are expected to resume only around Sept 15, after the end of the monsoon season.
District tourism officer Rahul Chaubey said no bookings were made beyond June 22 due to the halt, which was initiated in the wake of monsoon and pending safety directives. Chaubey, who also oversees helicopter services on the Kedarnath route, said, "Around 900 tickets are being cancelled each day as the choppers are not operating since June 15, which means anything between 5,400 to 6,000 tickets have been cancelled in this duration.
We are waiting for instructions from U ttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) before proceeding any further."
Since the Kedarnath yatra began, 56,044 pilgrims have taken helicopter rides from Guptkashi, Sirsi and Phata, while 54,209 have returned from Kedarnath to these helipads. The June 15 incident was the fifth helicopter-related mishap on the Char Dham route in 45 days. On May 8, six people died in a crash near Gangotri
In response to the rising number of crashes, Uttarakhand high court took suo motu cognisance of the June 15 incident and sought a reply from the state on safety lapses.
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Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed the implementation of stricter norms, including the deployment of twin-engine helicopters, mandatory real-time weather cameras, and regular fitness checks for choppers. He also ordered a command-and-control centre to be set up in Dehradun.
Environmental concerns have also surfaced, with residents and activists flagging the ecological toll of frequent helicopter traffic on the fragile Himalayan region, calling for operations to be suspended until proper safeguards are enforced.
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