PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Char Dham Teerth Purohit Mahapanchayat said it had raised questions regarding arbitrary operations by helicopter companies and related irregularities during Char Dham Yatra but the government failed to take action. Following the Sunday’s helicopter crash near Kedarnath in Rudraprayag which claimed seven lives, the president of Mahapanchayat Suresh Semwal questioned who gave permission for helicopters to take off before 5 AM. He expressed concern saying that 13 passengers died in a total of six crashes in the last 38 days. An emergency landing was recently made by another helicopter and another one came close to a collision in Badrinath. The general secretary of Mahapanchayat Brijesh Sati claimed that the companies had been blatantly disregarding guidelines while offering services in the Char Dham and Kedarnath valley area. He said that the Mahapanchayat raised these concerns many times in the past but no concrete action was taken by the government. The Mahapanchayat demanded a high-level inquiry into the accidents and called for a halt in operations until the inquiry report is made public. Sati said that there should be clear guidelines for helicopter operations, adding there should be no compromise with the safety of passengers. All accidents should be investigated at a high level. Operations should remain suspended until the investigation is complete and its report is made public, he added.
