Inspect paragliding sites every 15 days, Kullu district monitoring committee told

Our Correspondent

Kullu, December 28

A meeting of the paragliding and river rafting district-level monitoring committee was held under the chairmanship of Kullu DC Ashutosh Garg here today.

The DC said the paragliding sites should be inspected by the committee every 15 days. He directed the Health Department to compulsorily ensure medical tests of all paragliding operators, including the pilots. He also urged the paragliding association to install CCTV cameras at the sites to ensure that these activities are conducted safely.

The DC said the committee should conduct surprise inspection at various sites and also ensure that security arrangements are appropriate at the new paragliding sites. He said the pilots associated with various paragliding activities should be told to always carry their identity cards. He said for the sake of security, the operators should maintain a register of complete details of each paragliding flight. Timely inspection of the record should also be done by the committee.

The officer said a letter of recommendation from the paragliding association would be necessary for new pilots seeking licence and also for renewal of a pilot’s licence. An examination to check the experience and professionalism of the pilot will also be mandatory. He said each pilot would be allowed to fly a maximum of four sorties per day so that they perform their work in a convenient and safe manner.

Garg said suggestions had been sought from all association members to conduct activities such as paragliding and river rafting in a safe manner in the district.

A tourist from Maharashtra died after falling during paragliding after his harness broke mid-air at Devgarh near Dobhi in Manali. The police had arrested the pilot for causing death due to negligence. Many such accidents had been registered in the past too. Most of them had occurred due to lack of expertise and carelessness of the operators.

The Tourism Department lacks adequate infrastructure to maintain thorough vigilance in such a vast region. It had failed to chalk out plans with various associations of adventure sports to develop self-regulatory mechanisms to safely conduct such activities. Even rules had not been framed separately for many adventure activities.

DC: Ensure medical tests of operators

• The Kullu Deputy Commissioner directed the Health Department to compulsorily ensure medical tests of all paragliding operators, including the pilots
• He also urged the paragliding association to install CCTV cameras at the sites to ensure that these activities are conducted safely

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