Shillong: Pawan Hans resumed chopper service in Meghalaya on Thursday with the Chief Minister Mukul Sangma taking a ride on an all weather helicopter from Guwahati to Shillong.
The official agreement on resumption of chopper service in the state was signed day before yesterday after licensed private chopper service providers in the country "did not participate" in the international bidding process which ended last month.
Official sources said today that due to the fact that despite the routes being hazardous the profit component was less, so the private chopper service providers did not participated in the bidding process.
The all-weather twin-engine Eurocopter-manufactured Dauphin Aero Special chopper is of an improved and more powerful chopper and uses state-of-the-art safety technology, Pawan Hans Chief Managing Director Anil Srivastava said.
According to the agreement, the state government will pay a fixed monthly charge of Rs 62,96,000 and hourly flying charges of Rs 63,160 out of which the Centre will bear 75 per cent of the outgo on this service.
The company has also assured the state government that newer choppers conforming to the latest Aviation Standards (AS4) clocking less than 5000 flying hours and "stricter" maintenance schedule before and after each flight.
Pawan Hans also announced that 10 seats of Aircraft Maintenance Engineering in their institute at Mumbai for students from Meghalaya.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, July 26, 2012, 21:48