New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia virtually flagged off first direct flight on Shillong-Dibrugarh route under under the Regional Connectivity Scheme – UdeDeshKaAamNaagrik (RCS-UDAN), today. With this, till date, 389 routes and 62 airports (including 5 heliports and 2 water aerodromes) have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme.
The airline Indigo has been awarded the Shillong – Dibrugarh route during the UDAN 4 bidding process. The airline will deploy its 78-seater ATR 72 aircraft. The airlines are being provided Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the UDAN scheme to keep the fares affordable and accessible for the common people, the Ministry of Civil Aviation stated.
Due to the non-availability of any direct mode of transportation, people were compelled to cover a long 12-hour journey by road and train to travel between Shillong and Dibrugarh. Now, natives can easily fly between the two cities by opting for a flight of just 75 minutes.
Shillong is surrounded by hills from all sides. Famous for the presence of many well-reputed educational institutions, Shillong is the hub of education for entire North-East India. Apart from being the beauty & education centre, Shillong also acts as the gateway to Meghalaya, the state famous for heavy rainfall, caves, tallest waterfalls, beautiful landscapes, and its rich heritage and culture. Shillong is famous for Elephant falls, Shillong Peak, Umiam lake, Sohpetbneng Peak, Don Bosco Museum, Laitlum Canyons. Moreover, Shillong is the only capital city in North East India to produce two football clubs that participate in the I-League, namely, Royal Wahingdoh FC and Shillong Lajong FC. In addition to these, Shillong Golf Course is one of the oldest golf courses in the country.
Scindia disclosed that apart from promoting flight connectivity, his focus was on developing the infrastructure capabilities along with helicopter services for the last mile delivery. To ensure that, the Government recently launched the Helicopter policy to further promote Heli Services in North-East. “We want the bring the travellers from all over the country to North-East,” he said.
– global bihari bureau
