A trial run of a proposed helicopter service from Calcutta to Balurghat was done this morning.
The chopper took off from the Behala Flying Club in Calcutta at 9am and reached the Mahinagar airstrip in Balurghat at 10.45am with two pilots and an engineer.
The district administration has said the service would start within a month after the trial run and seven passengers could be taken in the chopper. The fare per person would be Rs 1,500. After a halt of around 45 minutes in Balurghat, the chopper flew to Malda.
A source said the helicopter would fly every Wednesday from Calcutta and also halt at Malda on the return journey back to Calcutta. There would be a quota of four seats for passengers in Balurghat.
When the service starts the chopper will take off from Balurghat, halt at Malda, then fly to Calcutta.
“The trial run was successful.We need to repair the runway, which has become rough over the years. We also need to build a shed for the passengers and introduce security measures. A team from the Airports Authority of India would come here for this purpose,” said Tapas Chaudhury, the district magistrate of South Dinajpur.