Himachal to have paragliding centre in Bir-Billing

Shimla, September 8

The state government is constructing a paragliding centre amid the mighty Dhauladhar range in its backdrop in Himachal Pradesh's Bir-Billing area that saw India's first AAI Paragliding World Cup in 2015.

This fact came to light in a written reply by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, who also holds a Civil Aviation portfolio, in the Assembly on Tuesday.

Replying to a question of Congress member Ashish Butail, the Chief Minister said there was no such proposal to set up a national paragliding school in the state.

But the Department of Tourism is constructing a paragliding centre at Bir in Kangra district for which site has been identified and work has been started, the Chief Minister added.

A sum of Rs eight crore for the paragliding centre has been sanctioned under the Himalayan Circuit of Swadesh Darshan Scheme of the Union Ministry of Tourism, the Chief Minister said.

Bir, the landing site that is also home to Tibetan refugees and Buddhist monasteries, and the take-off point of Billing are separated by 14 km in Kangra district, some 275 km from Chandigarh.

After six months of hiatus owing to the COVID-induced lockdown, tandem paragliding flights will resume at Billing from September 15, officials told IANS.

The state allowed paragliding during the first week of July but the ban continued on the tandem flights.

--IANS