Ralam in Johar valley to have a helipad
Ralam in Johar valley to have a helipad
B.D. Kasniyal
Pithoragarh, Feb 19
The second helipad at Ralam village, at Indo-China border region of Johar valley in Pithoragarh district, will be ready by next year at an estimated cost of Rs 98 lakh that has been sanctioned to construction agency namely- Didihat division of Rural construction agency.
The Ralam village is famous for a glacier near it, known as the Ralam glacier.
“The helipad will be at 14000 feet elevation in Johar valley and is at the distance of 40 km from the first helipad in the valley, the Milan helipad,” said Nitin Pandey, executive engineer of rural works department, the construction agency.
The village of Ralam, came into news in 2024 when, Rajiv Kumar, the then Chief Election Commissioner of India, had to force land in the fields of the village after his helicopter on way to Milan village, faced inclement weather. “ The CEC had to spend 17 hours in open region of Ralam as the nearest settlement was at a distance of 12 km. He could reach Munsiyari after administration rescued him by another helicopter,” said Puran Pandey, a resident of Munsiyari.
The helipad in Ralam, will not only be beneficial for security forces but also for sending essential goods to nearest villages during monsoon months.
Besides this, Ralam is a tourist place in Munsiyari and more thanr 5000 trekkers reach Ralam in an average tourist season. “As home stay and other facilities are available in Ralam, the number of tourists and trekkers will increase after the heli facility as over 60000 tourists reach Munsiyari every year and some of them want to reach Ralam and complaint of lack of air connectivity,” said Kriti Arya, Pithoragarh District Tourist Officer.
