Pics: Pareekshith Shet
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB/SP)

Udupi, Feb 15: Karnataka's policy of giving thrust to heli tourism in a big way seems to be having ripple affects in the district. The district administration plans to explore heli tourism potential of the district, which also is expected to come as a boon to students, businessmen, industrialists and others. The helipad lying near the fish market at Malpe is planned to be put to use for this purpose.

A helipad exists at Malpe since 1967. The district administration had handed over this helipad for the use of National Cadet Corps (NCC) in 1967 itself. The helipad continued to be under the control of NCC between 1967 and 2001. However, the facility was hardly used during this period. Between 2001 and 2008 it was never put into use. After 2008 till 2011, NCC continued to occupy the helipad although permission given to it was not renewed, and without making any improvements in the facilities there. The district administration had served notices on NCC several times, asking it to return the helipad to district administration, but there was no response.

The district administration wants to make use of this helipad to promote heli tourism. The nearest helipads are located at Mangaluru, Karkala, and Areshirur near Kollur.

When deputy commissioner (DC) of the district, Dr Vishal R, visited the helipad on Monday February 15, NCC representative, Subedar Awadhesh Kumar, did not open the gates of the helipad when requested by the DC. The DC went wild at this treatment, took the Subedar to task, and summoned the district superintendent of police to the spot, and asked him to take action against the official for not acting on the instructions of the DC. After that, DC and other officials were allowed to enter the helipad.

Chipsan Aviation from Kerala plans to operate helicopters from this helipad on a trial basis for two weeks. It will operate two hours in the morning, and two more hours in the afternoon. The company feels that the town has tremendous tourist potential as tourists, patients, VIPs etc who have to frequent this place can make more efficient use of time.

Director of Chipsan Aviation, Sunil Narayanan, feels that heli tourism has high potential of success here because of existence of beaches, equipped with recreational opportunities, location of Manipal nearby which has about 20,000 students etc. He feels that youngsters would be interested to use this facility. Compared to the other two helipads in the district, this one has better connectivity and is strategically placed.

Cleaning and maintenance, security, and land area maintenance can turn this into a good helipad. For the use of VIPs and others, the helipad would have to be developed as per the guidelines of directorate general of civil aviation like provision of fire engine etc. On the basis of demand for this facility, the helipad can be developed over a period of time, he feels.

Chipsan operates from four spots in Karnataka including three at Bengaluru. At present, charges for a ten-minute ride have been put at Rs 3,000. After entering into understanding with managements of educational institutions, concession can be extended for their students, who have to produce their identification cards, which would be Rs 2,600 for the present.

There is good scope for using this helipad also for business and health (in emergencies). In Kerala, helicopter services were used for transportation and transplant of organs. The time taken to cover distances between different helipads in coastal region are, 20 minutes to Mangaluru, 16 minutes to Kollur, 40 minutes to Murudeshwar, and 30 minutes to Dharmasthala/Subrahmanya. The district administration would be charging Rs 3,000 a day for the present to Chipsan towards maintenance. The helicopter charges would mainly depend upon the hours of operation, and per day operation cost would be two lac rupees. At present, booking should be done a day in advance, and a helicopter will take off after all six seats are occupied. Sunil said that for emergency evacuation of patients, a decision thereto entirely depends on the person's profile.

In Kochin, the concern started operations in 2012, and at present, per day use of helicopters is 80 hours on an average, which is a profitable proposition. Sunil Narayanan opines that people should be more educated about advantage of heli tourism and should open up to this idea.

Although every district headquarter should have a helipad, there are two helipads, one at Karkala and the other at Areshirur in this district but not in the headquarter. The Areshirur helipad near Kollur is mainly used for transporting renowned playback singer, P B Srinivas, who visits Kollur once every 15 days.

The company uses twin engine helicopter for Bengaluru joyride, where per hour charges are Rs 97,000 out of which Rs 12,000 comprises service tax. Taking into account total number of students, employees, business concerns and cost effectiveness, at present, four hours of daily operation has been decided upon, he stated.

A number of prominent persons including deputy commissioner, superintendent of police, and some journalists, took a sample ride for a few minutes 20 feet above ground on Monday. These helicopters can reach a maximum of height of 12,000 feet, Sunil added. The helicopter was piloted by Capt Rahul.