Kullu: Paragliders undergo training to improve emotional control

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, April 24

Out of the 601 registered paragliding pilots conducting tandem commercial flying in Kullu, only 112 are SIV (Simulation during Flights-Paragliding Safety Course) qualified.

Earlier, this number was only 42 but around 70 pilots had recently completed the course. As per the rules, from May 31, 2022, the advance SIV certificate was mandatory for the pilots to acquire licence for tandem flying. The certificate had been made mandatory even for the renewal of licences of old pilots, but a two years period had been provided to them to do the course, if they already have licences for commercial tandem flying.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) conducted a SIV course at Pong Dam near Dhametha village in Kangra district, which concluded and 147 pilots from Kullu, Chamba, Mandi and Kangra were imparted training in simulating unstable situations in flight. SIV stands for ‘Simulation d’Incident en Vol’ and roughly translated means simulating unstable situations in flight.

The pilot learns to improve his emotional intelligence in emergency situations and how to give correct inputs in different unstable situations. It’s a progression for solo pilots on their way to becoming advanced pilots. The 5 to 8-day course costs around Rs 40,000.

The tandem pilot should be certified by any recognised national level association or an institution to get a valid registration from the technical committee. However, blank SIV certificates of an authorised Uttarakhand-based institute were seized by Kullu SDM Vikas Shukla on January 22, 2023. Just after the busting of the racket, the Tourism Department had prohibited six pilots from tandem flying for getting their flying licences renewed in 2022 using the advance SIV certificates of 2017-18 of the same institute. Six of them are still suspended from carrying out tandem flying. An accused involved in the racket had admitted that he had sold around 70 fake certificates and had charged Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 to provide a fake coloured copy of the certificate.

Commercial tandem flying had been carried out in the valley for over two decades. The government has framed strict rules to ensure the safety of revellers opting for the thrilling and risky sport after many fatal accidents had been registered in the past during paragliding. However the fake SIV certificate racket had raised a question on the measures taken by the regulatory committee to verify the credentials of the documents provided by the applicants for tandem flying licence.

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