After a two-month monsoon suspension, paragliding activities have resumed in Himachal’s Bir-Billing, a popular paragliding destination, with stakeholders reporting a promising beginning to the season.
According to members of the Billing Paragliding Association (BPA), around 800 flights were recorded on each of the first two days. They said commercial pilots received a good response, with almost all of them conducting three flights a day — the maximum permitted limit for a pilot.
Paragliding activities resumed on September 19 after being suspended from mid-July. Due to the monsoon season, paragliding activities remain suspended every year from July 15 to September 15 to avoid any untoward incident.
The activities were earlier scheduled to resume on September 16, but due to bad weather conditions, the suspension was extended till September 18. Suresh Kumar, general secretary of the BPA, said, “Tourists are here, and we have got a good start to the season. There has been a good response from domestic tourists.”
The activities are expected to increase in the coming days, and from next month, with many international fliers expected to arrive, Kumar said.
Bir-Billing, renowned for its excellent thermals and breathtaking scenery, attracts thousands of paragliding enthusiasts every year.
Baijnath SDM Sankalp Gautam said, “Whenever the weather is not suitable, we briefly halt flying activities. We have deployed marshals at both the take-off and landing sites. We are also in the process of undertaking some repairs at the take-off site, for which we have prepared an estimate.”
{{/usCountry}}Baijnath SDM Sankalp Gautam said, “Whenever the weather is not suitable, we briefly halt flying activities. We have deployed marshals at both the take-off and landing sites. We are also in the process of undertaking some repairs at the take-off site, for which we have prepared an estimate.”
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