Tourism dept keen on seaplane

Citizens may soon be able to fly to Tarkarli beach in Konkan, landing directly on the coast.

Citizens may soon be able to fly to Tarkarli beach in Konkan, landing directly on the coast.

HT Image

State tourism minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who saw a presentation of an amphibious plane – it can take off and land from the water, land or a ship – on Thursday asked the company, Maritime Energy Heli Air Services Private Limited to present a concrete proposal before the tourism department.

“If you present a concrete proposal by the first week of July, we can start the service in October,” said Bhujbal.

He added that such a service could be used to ferry tourists across the 720km coastline where no helipad service or airstrips were available. Bhujbal said the service could be used during emergencies as well.