BALLARI: Talks are underway to connect Hampi with Tamil Nadu through heli-rides. A Tamil Nadu-based travel company is in talks with the Archaeological Survey of India and other authorities to start a chopper service between Coimbatore and Hampi.Heli-rides are conducted over Hampi during the annual Hampi Festival. There are helipads at Kamalapura, which is located close to Hampi. The new venture involves tourists travelling from Coimbatore to different tourist destinations in South India. To begin with, the company is offering heli-rides to Hampi, Mangaluru, Kodagu in Karnataka and Munnar in Kerala.
Express Holidays Company from Coimbatore will use a Bell407 chopper that can accommodate up to six passengers. The company has tied up with Planet X Areospace Pvt Ltd that will provide chopper rides to these destinations. A senior manager from Express Holidays told TNIE that enquiries have been coming in for chopper rides to Hampi from Tamil Nadu.
“Currently, we are holding discussions with various service providing agencies including hotels, resorts and local transport agencies. We are also in touch with Central agencies for the clearance to fly as well as operate from these tourism areas. For instance, a trip to Hampi from Coimbatore for five people may cost close to Rs 5 lakh depending on the hours of flying. We are still working out on the final tariff,” he said.
P Kalimuthu, Deputy Superintendent of Hampi Circle of the ASI said that heli-tourism will boost footfalls at Hampi and talks are on to introduce it. “There is a proposal in this regard and it will be decided by the Director General (DG)-level officers of the ASI. The ASI will lay down a set of guidelines,” he said.
Recently, the Ministry of Culture had announced to upgrade current status of the ASI office in Hampi, which now has full-fledged circle to maintain and restore monuments. The ruins of Hampi attract tourists from all over the globe but due to the pandemic, footfalls have dropped over the last few months. The district administration and Tourism department of Karnataka are planning to introduce new packages to increase the number of tourists in the coming days.