The wait continues: Bir Billing’s paragliding school yet to take off

India’s first Paragliding School, constructed at Bir Billing by the Himachal Pradesh State Tourism Department at a cost of Rs 8 crore, lies in shambles as it has not been made operational even after four years of completion. The state government had received Central funding from the Ministry of Tourism in 2015, during the tenure of then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, for the project. The Tribune has highlighted the issue earlier as well.

When laying the foundation stone eight years ago, Virbhadra Singh had announced that the school would be functional within two years. However, the school remains non-operational, as the Tourism Department has yet to finalise rules to regulate paragliding schools across Himachal Pradesh, including Bir Billing.

Virbhadra’s successor, Jai Ram Thakur, also promised the early start of classes during his 2021 visit to Bir Billing, but no action followed. Similarly, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the department to begin classes during his October 2023 visit, but his orders too remain unimplemented.

The absence of an official training school has caused inconvenience to hundreds of paragliding enthusiasts from India and abroad who visit Bir Billing every year. While the Tourism Department has repeatedly announced plans to frame rules for regulating both government and private paragliding schools, no concrete steps have been taken so far.

In the absence of regulations, several private schools have mushroomed illegally in Bir Billing. Local pilots continue to train enthusiasts, but without official oversight. Gurpreet Singh Dhindsa, a renowned pilot from Punjab who has run a private school at Bir for over 20 years, admitted his institute is unregistered since there is no legal provision for such registration in Himachal. Despite repeated attempts over the past two decades, Dhindsa has been told to wait until rules are framed.

He added that whenever mishaps occur, the Tourism Department often shuts down private schools arbitrarily, worsening the situation. “The department should urgently frame rules and register paragliding schools. We are ready to pay fee, but without regulation, aspiring pilots risk training under unqualified people. Many fatal mishaps involve untrained pilots, which tarnishes the reputation of the entire adventure sports fraternity,” Dhindsa said.