Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the first-ever seaplane service on October 31 by flying down from the Sabarmati riverfront to the Narmada dam reservoir at Kevadia colony where the Statue of Unity is situated.
All the necessary preparations have been completed before the Prime Minister’s arrival in Ahmedabad. The site at Sabarmati riverfront where the seaplane is docked has been closed from all sides for the public.
Officers of various departments held meeting at the water aerodrome
A meeting of officials associated with the seaplane project was held today to take stock of the preparatory measures. At the meeting, details regarding the date and frequency of the seaplane service for the public were discussed. It was decided to operate four flights daily between Ahmedabad and Kevadia colony.
Police, SPG, SRP and Firebrigade personnel deployed at the riverfront
Stringent security steps have been put in place by the police at the riverfront in view of the Prime Minister’s scheduled visit. While the site where the seaplane is docked at present has been closed for the public, a strong contingent of police and state reserved police has been deployed at the site. Dog squad has been pressed into service to detect explosives.
Cruise boat near Statute of Unity for tourists
An additional attraction for the tourists, a cruise boat service will be introduced visiting the Statue of Unity on the Narmada river. This was earlier planned to be introduced on March 21 but had to be deferred in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, this would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 30.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to reach Kevadia colony at 3 pm on October 30 and will inaugurate Jungle Safari and the cruise boat at the Statue of Unity.
The Prime Minister will travel by the cruise boat from the Statue of Unity to the Shreshta Bharat Bhavan, a distance of six kilometres. This cruise service will be on the pattern of the one started by the Prime Minister in the Ganga river at Varanasi. For this, three jetties have been set up, one near the Statue of Unity, the second near the Shreshta Bharat Bhavan and the third as an emergency jetty near the Statue of Unity.
The cruise boat has been christened as ‘Ekta Cruise’. The cruise boat has a seating capacity of 202 but at present, due to the coronavirus crisis, only 100 people would be allowed to ride on it at a time.
Passengers can also avail of the refreshment on the boat at their own cost.
Facilities on cruise boat
the cruise boat has the capacity to carry 200 passengers, at present only 100 would be allowed in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The cruise will cover a distance of six kilometres. The distance between Garudeshwar and Statue of Unity would be covered by the cruise boat in 45 minutes. The fare for the trip has been fixed at Rs 430. Tribal artistes would present folk dance and music on the stage on the boat. There will also be a cafeteria from where the passengers can buy food and beverages.
Seaplane service between Ahmedabad and Statue of Unity to start on October 31; ticket at Rs 1,500.
Spicejet had announced to operate seaplane service between Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati riverfront and Statue of Unity at Kevadia colony on the Narmada river as part of a step to provide inter-state linkage and promote tourism. The Prime Minister is going to inaugurate the first seaplane service on October 31.
Ahmedabad/Gurugream: Spicejet will operate the seaplane service between Ahmedabad and Kevadia colony from October 31. One-way all-inclusive fare for the seaplane flight has been fixed at Rs 1500 and the booking will begin on October 30.
Tickets can be booked online from Spiecejet’s website: www.spiceshuttle.com. The Spicejet will operate a 15-seater Twin Otter 300 aircraft for this service.
Flight to take off from Ahmedabad on October 31 aet 10.15 in the morning
The inaugural flight will take off at 10.15 a.m. from the Sabarmati riverfront at Ahmedabad, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and reach Statue of Unity at Kevadia colony at 10.45.
Seaplane will reduce the travel time to half an hour
Spicejet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said the airline’s first seaplane flight would be a memorable event. Spicejet is proud to be associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream project of providing connectivity to remote areas of the country. He said the travel time between Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati riverfront and Statue of Unity at Kevadia colony would now be reduced to just 30 minutes by the seaplane.
He further said this will provide a major boost to tourism as well as pave the way for providing air connectivity to small towns in the country and remove the bottleneck that exists in a communication network. Seaplane is an ideal flying machine which can land on small water reservoirs and thus avoiding the major expenses on building airports and runways.
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