Helicopter Services For Chardham Yatra Suspended For 2 Days After Chopper Crash
Dehradun:
Helicopter services on the Chardham yatra route were suspended for two days on Sunday in the wake of the crash of a chopper returning from Kedarnath.
Seven people, including the pilot, were killed in the helicopter crash on Sunday morning.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who held an emergency meeting with senior officials to discuss the situation, said heli services will remain suspended for two days as the weather is bad and the safety of passengers is the state government's top priority.
He also told officials at the meeting to issue a strict SOP for heli operations in the state and set up a control and command centre here besides taking action against those responsible for the crash.
"There should not be any laxity regarding compliance with DGCA norms in helicopter operations in the state. It should also be ensured that the pilots flying in the upper Himalayan region are experienced," Mr Dhami said after the emergency meeting. Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Tourism and Civil Aviation Secretary Sachin Kurve, Disaster Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman, UCADA (Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority) and DGCA officials attended the meeting held via video conferencing.
Mr Dhami attributed the crash to inclement weather and said heli operations will remain suspended for two days on Sunday and Monday.
"The weather is also bad and the safety of pilgrims is paramount. There will be no heli services today and tomorrow. Aviation companies, DGCA and UCADA have been asked to review the situation thoroughly before resuming heli operations, " he said.
Helicopter crashes or emergency landings are occurring at an alarming frequency on the Chardham yatra route in Uttarakhand. The Chardham yatra involves Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri shrines.
The latest crash involving an Aryan Aviation Pvt Ltd chopper returning from Kedarnath near Guptkashi on Sunday morning is the fifth helicopter accident on the pilgrimage route since the start of the yatra on April 30.
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Time of India
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Dehradun: With five helicopter accidents, including two fatal ones, since the Char Dham yatra began on April 30, calls for suspending air services have intensified. The latest crash on the Kedarnath route, which killed seven people, has reignited concerns over both passenger safety and ecological damage. Residents of the Char Dham districts and wildlife experts said ongoing operations pose a threat to human lives and the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. They demanded a halt to chopper services during the pilgrimage until adequate environmental and aviation safeguards are implemented. Social activist Shashi Bhushan Naithani, who has campaigned on the issue for years, said, "Helicopters frequently fly dangerously close to glaciers and meadows, traversing valleys in ways that disturb sensitive wildlife and disrupt the region's delicate ecology." He added that TOI had reported in 2022 on low-flying choppers disturbing Himalayan valleys. "Nothing has changed since then. Pilgrim safety is being compromised, forget about flora and fauna. " Villagers have long raised alarms about aviation firms violating norms. Experts warned that unregulated chopper traffic threatens vulnerable and endangered species like snow leopards, musk deer, and Himalayan tahr, all listed on the IUCN Red List. The region's unique high-altitude flora, including oak, chir, and birch trees, is also at risk. Himalayan ecologist S P Singh said, "The biodiversity of alpine meadows is already facing multiple stressors. Continuous helicopter traffic introduces air and noise pollution, encouraging encroachment by woody trees into herbaceous alpine zones. This leaves no space for delicate alpine herbs to survive, and they are at risk of gradual extinction." He added, "We need to pause now. Where are we heading? Is it in sync with science or not, and are we actually developing?" S Sathyakumar, former senior scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), said that although wildlife in the valley had become somewhat accustomed to helicopters by the time a 2016 study of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary was conducted, a fresh and comprehensive study is now needed to compare current data with earlier findings and assess the true impact of helicopter activity. In the past, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had issued directives regulating altitude and noise levels for helicopters flying in Kedarnath's airspace, following a petition by a resident seeking an aviation policy for the eco-sensitive zone. As per WII guidelines, helicopters must maintain a minimum altitude of 600m (2,000ft), and noise levels should not exceed 50 decibels. S Tarun, the divisional forest officer of the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary forest division, said, "No violation cases have been registered against any helicopter company this year or last year, based on monitoring done by our field staff. We have a decibel meter and range finder installed at Bhimbali for this purpose."
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