On the face of it introducing chopper service in collaboration with Pawan Hans Ltd was what the people of Kishtwar, Marwa and Wadwan greatly welcomed. They trusted their leaders and thought the difficulty of reaching Jammu in times of emergency would find a solution. This is because of the uncertainty of the road which remains under snow in winter and not passable. However, within few week of the inauguration of the service, there appeared signs of its failure for a number of reasons. It came to be known that the political leadership only wants to give publicity to this or that scheme and win their place in the press.
The fact is that the Pawan Hans Co. Ltd has put conditions which are difficult to meet and have become great discouragement for the people. First of all the air fare of rupees four thousand per head is too high a far for the people of this backward area. Secondly the condition that at least there should be eight passengers then alone the chopper will take off is a difficult condition. People are unable to afford the ticket and the chopper would not fly. One person had to pay the fare of eight passengers to carry his ailing father to Jammu for treatment.
This is a backward, perhaps the most backward, area of the state. The State should do whatever possible to bring down the cost of the air ticket to half at the most. Once that is done, there will be no shortage of passengers. We hope the government will also get into touch with other chopper services to explore which one would be prepared to charge minimum fare. Chopper service is essential for this for this farthest nook of the State at any cost and the issue should be settled keeping the economic standard of the locals in view.
Follow our WhatsApp channel