SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Cabinet on Friday decided to extend the contract of Pawan Hans helicopter services in the State for by another six months.
Informing this here after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said the services have been extended with the same terms and conditions.
He also pointed out that Meghalaya is getting 75 per cent of the total expenditure incurred on the chopper services as assistance from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
The chief minister, however, said that the duration of the extension is from July last year till January this year and the State government will meet soon to decide on whether to extend the services or not. Reacting to a query about the safety aspects of the helicopter services, the chief minister said Meghalaya is the only State which has insisted on implementation of rules for the safety of the air passengers. Besides, Meghalaya is the only State where Pawan Hans uses Dauphin N3 helicopters which are safer and better equipped to deal with any emergency.
Presently, Shillong is connected to Guwahati and Tura via helicopter services.
