Lack of real-time weather data and air traffic control endangers Kedarnath chopper services
Expressing his sadness about the helicopter crash that killed the pilot and six Kedarnath pilgrims, including a toddler, on Sunday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “I pray to Baba Kedar for the safety of all the travellers.” The Chief Minister has every right to present his case before the Lord but has to do his share of the job, too, if he wants all the pilgrims and those who facilitate the pilgrimage to return home safely.
The accident involving a helicopter, piloted by a veteran Army man, from Kedarnath to Guptkashi, was the fifth in a series in this pilgrimage season started on May 2. While five passengers lost their lives and many were injured in the first on May 8, the other three were not fatal as the passengers had a miraculous escape.
Pilgrims may be unsuspecting, unaware, or even unmindful of the dangers of their journey and the service operators may be greedy as it could happen in such a sector. It is here the role of the state becomes crucial, to ensure the best infrastructure, to lay down the best practices and security protocols and to ensure that they are followed. It is for the government to insist that it is not a free-for-all game.
Unfortunately, that is not the case with the Kedarnath pilgrim route. Pilots complain that they have no access to real-time weather information and depend wholly on visual cues. Worse, there is no air traffic control station in the valley which can offer them safe diversion routes in case of an emergency. In short, the operators depend only on the skills of their pilots and the weather. It is primitive and unacceptable.
The governments at the Centre and in the state must together rework the way the services are operated in the pilgrim route so that the chopper pilots are aided by real-time weather data and have access to route information provided by a formal air-traffic system. They should not be left solely at the mercy of the Lord.
