But Bengaluru aviation firm offers heli taxi for tourists to Kodagu, Kabini

Mysore/Mysuru: In all probabilities, there will be no helicopter rides this Dasara like the previous years where the tourists could hop into choppers to get a bird’s eye view of all the iconic places in Mysuru including the famous Mysore Palace and the Chamundi Hill at affordable rates. 

Confirming this to Star of Mysore, Assistant Director of Tourism Department H.B. Raghavendra said that this will be a simple Dasara and helicopter rides are not on the platter. 

Helicopter ride is an attractive feature for Dasara and it first started in 2016 through ‘Agasadhinda Mysuru’ which gave tourists and residents an opportunity to tour Mysuru in a helicopter. The ride started from the Lalitha Mahal Helipad and covered the whole city in 10 to 15 minutes. Six people (excluding the pilot) could sit at a time in the chopper.  

During this ten-minute aerial tour, one could view most of the tourist spots including the Mysore Palace, bus stands, Chamundi Hill, Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, Kukkarahalli Lake, Crawford Hall, Railway Station, Jaganmohan Palace, Karanji Lake, Exhibition Grounds, Manasagangothri campus and other prominent tourist spots across city. 

The rides continued in 2017, 2018 and 2019 but were dropped last year due to COVID outbreak. This year too, this will be dropped and according to sources the Mysuru district administration has no intention of  introducing the same to the tourists. Till now, the process should have begun but there is no news from the authorities, sources added. 

Trips to Kodagu, Kabini

Meanwhile, private chartered helicopter companies are continuing to operate choppers to tourist destinations including Kabini, Bandipur and also Kodagu. One such chopper owned by Chipsan Aviation landed at Jungle Mount Helipad Kakkabbe village in Kodagu yesterday and the trip carried some tourists to a resort from Bengaluru. On the return journey, the chopper carried passengers from Golf Club Madikeri to Bengaluru. 

Chipsan Aviation offers Heli Tourism and air-experience rides and also operates VVIP flying and heliport management services. Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, company Managing Director Sunil Narayan said that they have been operating chartered chopper rides from Bengaluru to Kodagu and Mysuru since 2012. 

“Before COVID, we used to get one or two trips per year and now after the pandemic, we are getting at least three trips to Kodagu and Mysuru per month. Tourists are opting for heli rides for quick transport,” he said. 

It takes 1.10 hours to fly from Bengaluru to Kodagu and Rs. 2,24,000 is charged for five passengers. “It is for a one-sided trip and in the return journey, we take different passengers. We pool in guests as per the dates and their convenience and a package is worked out based on guest enquiries,” he said. 

Sunil Narayan further said that he has no idea about the State Government’s ambitious heli-tourism project and when it will take off. “In the past, we had operated helicopter rides for Mysuru Dasara and this year too we are ready, but so far we have not got any communication from the Government,” he added.