Now, pilgrims wing their way to the Mahakumbh

HARIDWAR - For those who can afford it, the path to the Mahakumbh Mela is just a flight away. Pilgrims are now winging their way to the Mahakumbh Mela on the banks of the Ganga here on choppers from New Delhi and Dehradun.

The Prabhatam Helicopter Service, a New Delhi-based chopper service, has deployed three helicopters to ferry pilgrims to the Mahakumbh, being visited by hundreds of thousands of people for a dip in the holy river. A copter ride from New Delhi takes just 45 minutes and 30 minutes from Dehradun.

“For the last three days, we have been bringing pilgrims from New Delhi and Dehradun in choppers. The helicopters can accommodate five people,” Rakesh Sharma, chief executive officer of the Prabhatam service, told IANS.

The chopper packages for the Kumbh, Ganga Darshan, Rishikesh and Himalaya are Rs.3,100, Rs.5,100, Rs.11,000 and Rs.15,000 respectively from New Delhi.

“We launched the fleet Jan 14. By next week, we expect more pilgrims to avail of the chopper services because of the dense mist on the highway. Yoga guru Ramdev, the co-founder of the Patanjali Yoga Peeth, has agreed to send 2,000 of his employees for a Mahakumbh Darshan as part of a motivational package next week,” he said, adding that around 1,000 people had been ferried to the Kumbh so far.

According to Sharma, whose company also builds homes and hotels, “the changing profile of visitors to the Mahakumbh Mela and to the twin towns of Rishikesh and Haridwar” forced him to think of a “shorter and faster mode of transport”.

“Over the last five years, more foreigners and non-resident Indians have been visiting Haridwar and Rishikesh on holidays. Some of them rent hotel rooms and guest houses for more than six months. But increasing hotel tariff and rising travel costs have made their holidays more expensive. The prospect of having permanent homes and cheaper air transport are more economical,” Sharma said.

The businessman who is building a luxury apartment complex for a global clientele in Rishikesh, said “many foreign nationals, who visit India every year, have booked homes in his complex”.

“They want to have permanent retreats on the banks of the Ganges in Haridwar and Rishikesh,” Sharma said.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)