To hell with heli-tourism, shift this helipad

Srisailam Project: The muchhyped heli-tourism project of the state government landed in controversy with the locals expressing strong opposition to the noise pollution. The helipad is located in Sundipeta Sports Ground, the only playground serving for 10 schools and colleges in Srisailam mandal. The sound emanating from the chopper is causing disturbance to the students of educational institutions that surrounded the helipad.

It may be recalled that the Sumit Aviation Corporation has been permitted to run helicopter service from Hyderabad to Srisailam at a cost of Rs 14,800 per head. Similarly, a joy trip is being conducted charging Rs 2500 per head to enable tourists to catch glimpse of the Nallamala forest region and the River Krishna. The problem of helipad cropped up as the Revenue department has no helipad in the Srisailam Devasthanam limits.

it is under the Forest department’s jurisdiction. As the Forest department refused to give permission to the Sumit Corporation, a helipad was built at the Sundipeta Sports Ground in Srisailam mandal. The officials termed it as a temporary arrangement, but no permanent solution is apparently visible. Quoting the Forest Act, the locals said that Civil Aviation should not be permitted in the region as the forest area is declared a tiger zone.

Further, no heavy equipment producing loud sound should be used at all. The Sumit corporation has confined itself to joy trip in Sundipenta region alone as the Forest department objected to flying the helicopter over the Nallamala forest. The Revenue of the corporation crashed as the tourists did not get an opportunity to watch the panoramic view of the Nallamala forest and the River Krishna.

Residents of Sundipenta of Kurnool district have been demanding the government to shift the helipad to an alternative site citing sound pollution, possible heavy human loss in case of an air crash among other reasons. Parents of students, morning walkers, youth, who have been preparing for SI and constable recruitment physical tests and others have been objecting to the school ground in the town being used as helipad.

Meanwhile, a massive rally was taken out through the thoroughfares of the town by some organisations demanding immediate shifting of the helipad to elsewhere. The locals have been advising the aviation company to relocate their helipad and increase the purview of the joy trips to make the heli-tourism viable. They warned officials of dire consequences if their demand of relocating the helipad was not met.

The residents of the town held a protest meeting on Wednesday at Redla Kalyana Mantapam in Sundipenta with the participation of students, teachers, parents and representatives of people’s organisations and resoled in principle to submit a memorandum to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu highlighting their demands. Senior IPS officer Lakshmi Narayana, who pursued education in one of the educational institutions here, advised the old students’ association to take issue to the Chief Minister’s notice and appealed to the government relocate the helipad.

By S SYAMSUNDAR RAO