Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 259/12

MEGHALAYA CM ANNOUNCES REINTRODUCTION OF PAWAN HANS HELICOPTER SERVICES IN STATE

Shillong, July 26: In what he termed as a resumption of helicopter services in Meghalaya, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma, after landing at the helipad at Upper Shillong from Guwahati in a Pawan Hans helicopter, stated that the government of Meghalaya has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd and through this, chopper services have been resumed in the State after a gap of 15 months. The chief minister also said that there is a need to connect Shillong with the different district capitals of the State and termed this as a step in this direction.

Allaying fears regarding the safety norms followed by Pawan Hans, Dr. Sangma said that Pawan Hans was selected as the helicopters they are operating and their services are technically sound. Dr. Sangma also informed that under the MOU, it has been agreed that the helicopters that the company will be operating in the State will be of under 5 years old and will not have completed over 5000 hours of flying.

Dr. Sangma also informed that as per the MOU, Pawan Hans will train 10 selected youth from the State in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering.

Keeping in mind Meghalaya’s potential in tourism, the chief minister said that these chopper services will be of great help while trying to attract tourists to the State. Meghalaya has a number of tourist attractions which are difficult to access due to their sheer distance from the state capital of Shillong and the distance that needs to be travelled to get to these places is a deterrent for people who would otherwise like to visit them.

Also present at the event was the CMD of Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd Mr. Anil Srivastava who said that at present the company has two operational offices namely one overseeing operations in the northern region of the country and the other overseeing operations in the west. In this regard, he informed that the company will be opening another operational office at Guwahati shortly to oversee operations in the north east region. He also informed that the new choppers which will be introduced in the state will be ones with twin engines.

With regard to the training of the 10 youths from the state, Mr. Srivastava said that the youth who are class 12 pass with a mathematics and science background are eligible to apply for the training. When selected, these youth will be trained by the company at Mumbai from this year’s session onwards.

Mr. Srivastava also informed that Pawan Hans will be initiating operations in Mizoram shortly and that it will be floating a tender when the government of Arunachal Pradesh floats the invitation to do so.

Press Release No. 262/12

ASSAM GOVERNMENT CAN BE MORE FORTHCOMING SAYS DR MUKUL SANGMA

Shillong, July 26, 2012: After the conclusion of the all–party meeting to discuss the inter–state boundary imbroglio between Assam and Meghalaya, Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma on Thursday said that this meeting has enabled the government to discuss and reflect as to where the Meghalaya government stands in the context of the areas of difference over which it is laying claim and on how to build up support to justify this claim.

Dr Sangma said various notifications and records which have been compiled through efforts including inviting friends who had those kinds of records and notifications in their custody to share with the government has resulted in documents to support this claim.

Ways and means through which a settlement can be arrived at including the issues of various instances of the harassment of the people living in those areas and including the lack of development in the villages along the inter–state boundary with Assam was also discussed at the meet, the Chief Minister informed.

Dr Sangma said that various suggestions have been given and the government has also shared information about the number of steps which have been taken by it and various developmental initiatives which are required to be taken up in the villages along the inter – state border. These initiatives have already been initiated in 2012, Dr Sangma informed. He added that this year it has been decided to further increase the allotment of funds and that an action plan will be made for the development of those villages besides a separate corpus fund which will be made available for these types of programs.

Dr Sangma also opined that the posting of police personnel the inter–state border has been considered as very thin and in certain areas as bad as non–existent. In this context, the government will take expeditious steps to sanction those required infrastructure and posts in order to strengthen the security apparatus.

Dr Sangma also said that since there has been a resolution adopted in the Assembly to take this issue up with the Government of India, the constitution of a border commission to go into the details and come up with a recommendation. He added that engagements with the Government of Assam will continue. “We will continue to persuade the Government of Assam to explore the possibility of an opening up from their side for the settlement of this issue. I have reasons to believe that it is possible to convince Assam to be much more forthcoming, much more accommodating because at the end of the day, the people residing in the areas along the inter–state boundaries need to be taken care of and the interest of the future generations need to be taken into consideration. It is necessary that there is an ultimate settlement to ensure a better relationship, better understanding amongst the people residing along the border areas for the overall growth of the region,” said Dr Sangma.