(Tribune)
Having already lost one week of operations due to the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), 11 aviation companies have been given clearance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to carry out chopper shuttle operations to the revered Kedarnath shrine.The shuttles got underway from today and the companies which have been given the clearance following inspection of their choppers include state-run Pawanhans, Arrow Aircraft, Aryan, Pinnacle, the GVHL, Himalayan, Heritage, UT Air, Transbharat, Premair and the ICPL.
The orders clearing the rides were issued yesterday by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority following a go ahead from the DGCA.The shuttle operators, a majority of them private, have been overbooked by the pilgrims wanting to visit the Kedarnath shrine as part of the Chardham Yatra which got underway earlier this month.A schedule for the shuttle operations was handed out to the aviation companies yesterday and is initially for nine days.The shuttle operations to Kedarnath shrine had been under suspension following orders from the NGT.
