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Govt inks deal for chopper service |
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DIMAPUR, JAN 21 (EMN): The Nagaland Government has signed an MoU with King Rotors & Air Charter Pvt Ltd for helicopter services for the State.
The deal was inked today in the State Capital Kohima with the MD of the charter company in the presence of the Chief Minister and top government officials.
When contacted over phone, Press Secretary to CM Abu Metha informed that the helicopter contracted for service in the State is a Belgian made 6-seater twin engine. The chopper will be parked permanently here and be available solely for the use of the State, he added.
Explaining the advantages of the deal, the Press Secretary said the earlier arrangement with Pawan Hans had faced problems on this front as the choppers in the fleet had been contracted out to various states whereby it was found unavailable when it was needed. Also, with the Pawans Hans helicopters parked outside the State – Guwahati or Kolkatta – the expenditure of using the service was double since the tariff is calculated from the point where it begins flight. This was one of the reasons why the plans of commercial helicopter service to connect the districts had not been able to materialise, he said.
Metha said they were looking at February 1 to make the chopper service operational in the State.
It was learnt that the chopper service will be for official purposes to begin with, but the government is hopeful that the new deal would soon open the way for commercial services too.
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