By Team Ayurved Sutra
Posted on
Tourism department announces online portal for booking of Kedarnath chopper tickets
Taking cognizance of the several complaints regarding the helicopter ticket bookings, the Uttarakhand Tourism Department announced the launch of an online portal to book chopper tickets for Kedarnath Yatra.
The officials added that as many as 1,013 devotees booked chopper tickets from the routes of Phata, Sirsi, and Guptkashi in the first two days since the website (heliservices.uk.gov.in) was floated on August 7. The helicopter ticket booking software has been prepared by NIC.
Speaking on the occasion, state tourism secretary Dilip Jawalkar said that the new portal would bring transparency in the booking of tickets and check their black-marketing. As per the provision, 70 per cent of the chopper tickets will be up for grabs online. The remaining 30 per cent of the tickets could be booked from the booking centres at Sirsi, Phata, and Guptkashi. Under the plan, the travel agents would be given a separate login ID, for which the agents need to be registered with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Council. The registered travel agents have been permitted to charge a maximum of Rs 100 from each pilgrim. Earlier, chopper firms used to book tickets on their own websites. An official communication from the tourism department claimed the practice led to black-marketing of tickets.
