IAF’s Chinook Helicopter Begins Transporting Machines for Development Work in Kedarnath

Nainital: The Chinook helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) started its sorties from Gauchar helipad early on Tuesday morning to transport heavy machines needed for the redevelopment of Kedarnath.
The helicopter had reached Gauchar on Monday and started its work on Tuesday. The local officials told TOI that it will take three days for the entire machinery – tractors, dumpers and JCBs — to be transported to Kedarnath. The machines will be used for the second phase of redevelopment work in Kedarnath.
“It is not possible for us to transport these machines to the high altitude areas of Kedarnath and therefore, the state government had asked for the IAF’s help which sent its transport helicopter to Gauchar on Monday. The work has begun and we expect it to be completed in the next few days,” said Pradeep Karnwal, executive engineer of PWD disaster management.
The Kedarnath shrine is located over 3,550 metres above sea level and does not have any motorable road. Therefore, the state government had asked the help of the Air Force to shift these machines needed for the second phase of development work in the area which got completely washed away in the flash floods of 2013.
The officials said that all the machines have been stationed at the Gauchar helipad and they are being taken to Kedarnath in parts where the engineers would assemble them. “There are operational difficulties in carrying complete machines together. Thus, we have decided to take them in parts and assemble them at the location,” the official said.
Notably, this is not the first time that the Air Force has stepped in to help the development work in the Kedarnath region. During the floods of 2013 which killed thousands in the upper Himalayan region, the IAF had sent its MI-17 helicopters for rescue work. In 2015, during the first phase of redevelopment work in Kedarnath, IAF’s MI-26 helicopters were used to transport the machines to Kedarnath. A MI-17 helicopter had even crashed near Kedarnath in 2018, injuring six people.

Source: ToI