Tourism boost: Commercial paragliding begins in Kurseong

Amitava Banerjee, MP, 2 June 2024, Darjeeling: The first ever commercial paragliding in Kurseong commenced with two flights on Sunday. Kurseong Aero Club — a company — with the support from the Tourism department of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), has started this adventure sport facility in Kurseong. 

“The booking counter is located next to the Rohini Guest House. From here we will provide transportation to the take off point 3 km away. Once they fly to the landing point, they will be transported back to the booking counter area. 

The cost is Rs 4,000 per person for the 5 to 10 minute flight. If a person wants video clips of the flight done by us, an additional Rs 500 will have to be paid,” stated Pratish Chettri of the Kurseong Aero Club while speaking to Millennium Post. 

The booking counter is located 10 km away from Kurseong town and around 6 km away from Simulbari. The take off point at Chisopani is at an altitude of 840 m above mean sea level. The landing point is at an altitude of 440 m above mean sea level. 

The aerial distance between the two points is 1 km. When questioned on the safety provisions, Chettri stated: “We will provide an extra parachute for the flier. It is one of the safest flights as the take off and landing spots are in very safe areas. 

The landing area is so big that if one misses the demarcated landing spot one can easily land outside, which is a huge field. We have well trained and experienced pilots from Sikkim.” 

At present there are 6 to 10 gliders. There are three pilots from Sikkim. “One of the pilots has been flying since 2007, the other since 2012 and one since 2014. We will get more pilots in the near future,” added Chettri. 

There have been a number of test flights before the inauguration. The flag off was done by Anit Thapa, Chief Executive, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) on Saturday. “Tourism is the economic mainstay of the Hills. It provides opportunities for self-employment and is a major avenue of employment generation in the Hills. 

This endeavour will definitely emerge as a major boost to tourism in Kurseong as well as the Hills.” He stated that in the past also there have been unsuccessful attempts of introducing paragliding in Kurseong with problems with the landing point. 

“Kurseong Aero Club has been working for the past one year to make paragliding a success,” added Thapa. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/tourism-boost-commercial-paragliding-begins-in-kurseong-566262