Paragliding landing in Pokhara at same place, flight time also increased
With the opening of Pokhara International Airport, paragliding, which was pushed to the west from Sarangkot, has again moved to the east. The Civil Aviation Authority has given permission for landing at Khapaudi (End of the Lake), the former landing site, from Thursday.
Earlier, paragliding flights started from Sarangkot and flew over Phewatal and landed at Khapaudi. After the airport came into operation, the take-off point from Sarangkot was shifted to Mandredhunga, 5 km in the air. The landing site was shifted from Khapaundi to Pame. The authority moved the flight and landing place of paragliding citing security reasons.
After moving from Sarangkot, there was no paragliding over the lake, so there was a huge drop in the number of people taking flights. Businessmen felt some relief after the take-off site shifted from Mandredhunga to Toripani to the east last year. The landing place was Palme.
Businessmen expect that the paragliding business will return to its old rhythm after the landing site is moved to Khapaundi. The flight time of paragliding has also been increased. Previously, flights were only available from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, but from Thursday it will be possible to fly until 4:30 pm.
According to Khemraj Acharya, the vice president of Nepal Air Sports Association (NAS), before the airport came into operation, 1,000 tourists were paragliding daily, but after the flight and landing site was moved, it was limited to 100 people. Para pilots who were in number of 400 were reduced to 250. 10 of the 63 bottom paragliding companies were displaced. "This sector, which has directly employed 2,500 people, has reached a sick state," he said. Anil KC, president of
organization, told Gandaki Provincial Government, Pokhara Metropolitan City, He said that it was possible to shift the landing site due to the positive initiative of public representatives and tourism professionals. 'Paragliding had reached a state of displacement,' he said, 'with the help of the authorities, the business has come to a state of survival.' Two-way radio communication technology and GPS are used for paragliding flight safety.
On the occasion of receiving permission to fly at the site of Savik, a joint project of Air Sports Organization and Nepal Paragliding Pilots Club held a paragliding flight orientation training and interaction on the role of paragliding in tourism development in Pokhara on Wednesday . In the
interaction, Pokhara Metropolitan Chief Dhanraj Acharya said that once the paragliding business is reorganized with the permission of the authority, it will help Pokhara's economy. He informed that an international paragliding competition is going to be organized at the initiative of the metropolis and stressed on the need to convey the message that paragliding is safe.
President of Pokhara Tourism Council, Taranath Pahari, demanded that the airport should be opened for single (solo) flights as well. After the death of Niseem Thapa in a paragliding accident during the 9th National Games, the solo flight is closed.
