Heliport expansion at Barotiwala opposed

Solan, July 28

Efforts to expand the heliport at Barotiwala by acquiring a school ground was opposed by locals today.

Following a protest, the revenue staff, who was supposed to demarcate the land, had to give up the move.

Villagers said this was the lone school ground in seven panchayats where school tournaments were held. Instead of upgrading it into a stadium as had been announced, the government was snatching this ground.

“Sports like athletics, football, cricket, local wrestling tournaments, kabaddi, etc are regularly held here. The youth come here in the morning for workouts,” said Manish Mehta, a local villager from Mandhala.

Locals had earlier given a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the DC against this move where they had been assured that the ground would not be acquired, said Mehta.

They said helipad could be shifted to other place. They also suggested a site at Davni which was closer to Baddi as well as Nalagarh.

Residents of Kalujhinda, Jharmajri, Mandhala, Surajpur, Marrawala villages are opposing the move.

The revenue staff were supposed to demarcate the ground to expand the heliport where 23 bigha were to be added to the existing facility. The existing heliport was spread over 11 bigha and had limited facilities. If expanded, it would have provided air connectivity to Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Delhi, etc.

The heliport is developed under the UDAAN-2 scheme. Facilities such as fire operation building, passenger terminal building, underground storage tank, chain linking fencing and gates have been provided.