The HEMS in India would function under the “Sanjeevani” project, and the helicopter is now being manufactured. Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia announced on Thursday that Uttarakhand will be the starting point for India’s first Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS).
According to Scindia on X, a helicopter would be stationed at the All Indian Institute of Medical Science in Rishikesh, from which it may be dispatched to any location within a 150-kilometer radius in order to airlift patients to the hospital.
He declared that HEMS would function as part of the “Sanjeevani” initiative. The certification process is ongoing while the helicopter is currently being constructed. “Work is in progress to assemble and certify the helicopter that will be used for this purpose. I have that on my dashboard. Now, it’s all my affair, not yours,” Scindia remarked.
The development occurs one day after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who attended the occasion from Jolly Grant Airport, and the Government of India virtually opened the recently built terminal building (phase-2).
According to Scindia, the ₹486 crore terminal will have the capacity to handle 4.7 million passengers a year and 3,240 passengers at peak hours.
Scindia elaborated on the state’s efforts to increase air connectivity, saying, “Three airports in Uttarakhand—Dehradun, Pant Nagar, and Pithoragarh—are being upgraded by the government.” In the future years, he stated, there will be twenty-one heliports.
Uttarakhand Helipad and Heliport Policy 2023 was authorized by the Uttarakhand cabinet in December in response to the difficulties in reaching remote locations in the state’s hilly regions, particularly when emergency medical and disaster-related services are needed.
The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA), the state’s key agency for the development of ecosystems and facilities related to civil aviation, put out the policy. The state government’s Empowered Uttarakhand Mission is responsible for the policy’s preparation.
