From Mangalam.com
Raipur, Jan 24 (PTI) Police and other security forces deployed for conducting anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh will have to depend on private helicopters as government's air fleet is constrained by time limitations. The Chhattisgarh police, hit by the under-availability of the rotary wing aircraft on certain occasions, has extended by one year the lease that it had executed with private players to hire helicopters for anti-Naxal operations last year. These copters are used to send in reinforcements and evacuate injured troops. The state police, which already has the facility of using the BSF air fleet based here, is constrained by time limits set by the BSF air wing which is operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The step has been taken so that the operations and other casualty evacuation duties do not suffer, police sources said. According to rules, the four helicopters-- including two Mi-17 and an equal number of Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) 'Dhruvs'-- have a fixed time limit of flying for 80 hours for a month and also cater to other states like Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Orissa, which are also hit by Maoists, for operational duties. "So, if we require a helicopter for an operation or evacuation, we find the BSF air fleet has either clocked their official flight time or are gone to some other place. Hence, we have decided to extend the lease of our two private choppers and have invited fresh bids," a senior officer deputed for anti-Naxal operations said. Another senior officer in the Naxal grid said although helicopters are "everytime made available" for important missions, on occasions the time limit and because of the fleet catering to many states, certain hurdles do crop up. Border Security Force (BSF) chief Raman Srivastava had last year talked about "certain operational constraints" in the full-time serviceability of the helicopters' fleet deployed for anti-Naxal duties as the new 'Dhruvs' need to be "serviced frequently." "There is no dispute or problem in the operation of the helicopters fleet for anti-Naxal duties. But there are certain operational constraints...because these are new helicopters and they need to be serviced frequently. They are not always available, round-the-clock..they are not like cars," Srivastava had said. He had said filling of vacant posts for pilots is also an area that needs to be addressed.
http://mangalam.com/index.php?page=detail&nid=387310&lang=english
Raipur, Jan 24 (PTI) Police and other security forces deployed for conducting anti-Maoist operations in Chhattisgarh will have to depend on private helicopters as government's air fleet is constrained by time limitations. The Chhattisgarh police, hit by the under-availability of the rotary wing aircraft on certain occasions, has extended by one year the lease that it had executed with private players to hire helicopters for anti-Naxal operations last year. These copters are used to send in reinforcements and evacuate injured troops. The state police, which already has the facility of using the BSF air fleet based here, is constrained by time limits set by the BSF air wing which is operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF). The step has been taken so that the operations and other casualty evacuation duties do not suffer, police sources said. According to rules, the four helicopters-- including two Mi-17 and an equal number of Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) 'Dhruvs'-- have a fixed time limit of flying for 80 hours for a month and also cater to other states like Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Orissa, which are also hit by Maoists, for operational duties. "So, if we require a helicopter for an operation or evacuation, we find the BSF air fleet has either clocked their official flight time or are gone to some other place. Hence, we have decided to extend the lease of our two private choppers and have invited fresh bids," a senior officer deputed for anti-Naxal operations said. Another senior officer in the Naxal grid said although helicopters are "everytime made available" for important missions, on occasions the time limit and because of the fleet catering to many states, certain hurdles do crop up. Border Security Force (BSF) chief Raman Srivastava had last year talked about "certain operational constraints" in the full-time serviceability of the helicopters' fleet deployed for anti-Naxal duties as the new 'Dhruvs' need to be "serviced frequently." "There is no dispute or problem in the operation of the helicopters fleet for anti-Naxal duties. But there are certain operational constraints...because these are new helicopters and they need to be serviced frequently. They are not always available, round-the-clock..they are not like cars," Srivastava had said. He had said filling of vacant posts for pilots is also an area that needs to be addressed.
http://mangalam.com/index.php?page=detail&nid=387310&lang=english
No comments:
Post a Comment