By Mohamad Yousuf
Humans have always dreamed to be up in the air and fly high like a bird. With the advent of aero sports it made possible for them to release their ambition. The aero sports, until now the exclusive preserve of Armed Forces, are now open to anyone willing to partake of it. There are different types of aero sports, such as Hot air ballooning, Hang gliding, Power gliding, Microlight flying, Parachuting/Sky diving, Paragliding and Parasailing etc. In India these sports are controlled by an apex body called Aero Club of India, New Delhi. The main aim of the Club is to promote, develop, regulate and organize aero sports in its all forms in India. In J&K State these sports were looked after by the J&K Aero Sports Association which is defunct now for some time due to financial constraints and step brotherly treatment given to it by the J&K State Sports Council.
Jammu and Kashmir being a sensitive place the aero sports could not find any place in civil sports community and remained confined to military organizations till recent years. Since J&K is a Himalayan state where natural facilities are available for conducting the Paragliding on land and snow, Hang Gliding, parasailing on land and water and Hot air ballooning etc. These sports have tremendous scope in our tourism industry. The intended tourists would certainly love to undertake pleasure flights here, if necessary facilities are made available to them. An ex students of Kashmir University, Murad Bhat had started commercial Paragliding at Sonamarg but surprisingly instead of giving him any incentive the Sonamarg Development Authority charged him huge royalty which led to the closure of this scintillating tourist product there. This is a wrong policy of development authorities to charge royalties to such innovative adventure tourism activities
With the persuasion of two local aero sports enthusiasts, Mr. Jameel Shaheen and the writer, the Aero Club of India, New Delhi granted affiliation to J&K Aero Sports Association way back in 1996 but alas! the J&K State Sports Council did not recognize it till to date, even though some financial assistance was provided to the Association for organizing some Para Skiing and Aqua Parasailing training courses for novices at Gulmarg and Dal Lake respectively. The Sports Council also sponsored the participation of a four member delegation of the Association in a Symposium on “Parachute and Lighter than Air System Technologies” organized by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment at Agra in January 1997. For rendering better services to the society the President of the Aero Association was taken as a member on the Executive Committee of the Sports Council.
It is pertinent to mention here that the amateur aero sports were first brought to Jammu and Kashmir state by Shri Vishwa Bandhu Gupta, President of Ballooning Club of India when he organized a breath taking demonstration of Hot Air Ballooning in Srinagar which was followed by a more challenging Hot Air Ballooning expedition from Leh to Kanayakumari in mid seventies remember the then Chief Minister of J&K, Dr. Farooq Abdullah also undertook a pleasure ride in a Hot Air Balloon with Shri Vishwa Bandhu but Dr. Sahib surprised all spectators when he landed on a tree near Badami Bagh Cantonment.
Hang Gliding is very popular sport in our neighboring state Himachal Pradesh where training camps and competitions are regularly held for the tourists but it remained out of focus of the authorities in our state. The Tourism department could not exploit this sector in the valley. A variation of soaring, hang gliding has been popular since 1970s. Hang Gliders are constructions resembling kites, from which the flier is suspended by means of a harness and supported by a trapezlike frame. It is competitive sport and International Championships are held regularly in this sport. District Budgam is ideal place for this sport where we have well laid roads leading to the tops of VADER. For this type of sport we need mechanical transportation to carry heavy hang gliders from base to the top of the ridge.
Escalation of Paragliding and Parasailing in Kashmir:
Paragliding is a sport in which somebody, called Pilot or paratrooper, jumps from an aircraft or runs down a hill/ridge against the wind direction wearing a rectangular shaped canopy that allows control of direction in the descent to the ground. The alpine paragliding is more popular in Europe and is catching up fast all over the world. The paragliding canopies are lighter and one can easily carry them to high mountain tops and passes where from a pilot can easily take flight and soar in the air for hours. Paragliding is also possible on snow covered slopes and ridges but one must be a good skier. This kind of paragliding is called Para Skiing. It combines the tenacity and stamina required for climbing snow covered mountains on skis with the thrill of flying from mountain tops. Wind is the most important factor for paragliding which after filling its cells and complete inflation the parachute starts gliding at the end of the free fall.
The paragliding canopies offer significantly higher controllability and efficiency. The controls are achieved mainly by manipulating the rear rigging lines. It also provides pin point dropping. Military organizations utilize them for life saving, and dropping personnel, stores, explosives, and payloads with high reliability and accuracy. The parachutes consists of two layers of almost nil porosity fiber with intervening aerofil shaped ribs, making cells. These parachutes have turn rate 10 – 12 seconds for a turn of 360 degree. A pilot hovers in Figure Of Eight style for pin drop landing. While landing it has forward speed of 40 kmph. To cut the speed a pilot lands in the opposite direction of the wind. Alpine Paragliding can be operated from 300 meter to 10,500 m or more in fare weather. Right and left turns can be executed quickly by pulling appropriate control lines. The landing impact is soft comparing other Para jumping events.
Alpine Paragliding is an adventure as well as a competitive sport. This sport of paragliding was first introduced in Kashmir valley by the J&K Ski and Mountaineering Association way back in May 1988 when this sport perhaps did not exist anywhere in the sub-continent. The Swiss team of Alpine Flugschule, Lotschental comprising Mr. Rudi Thomi, Miss Susi and Mr. Walter first trained four members of JKSMA, Mehraj-ud-Din, Firdous Khan, Rouf Tramboo and the writer who later explored Aru (Pahalgam), Thajewas (Sonamarg) and Ahrabal etc. The Swiss experts also undertook a flight from Zabarvan hill in Srinagar and after hovering over Dal Lake they successfully landed in Cheshmashahi garden amidst of hundreds of tourists. This sport is also gaining popularity in Himachal Pradesh and is becoming increasingly popular all over the world. In the year 1997 the Jammu Tourism Department procured about a dozen of Paragliding canopies but these remained unused for most of the time The JKSMA owns two such canopies which they use for training local youth and the students of Kashmir University etc. The J&KASA conducted first Para skiing course at Gulmarg in 1998.
The J&K Aero Sports Association conducted and initiated for the first time, in J&K state, Aqua Parasailing camp under the name and style “Para Dal-1998” on Dal Lake. The main aim for going through with that activity was to foster, amongst local youth a spirit of aero sports. No advance training or special skill is needed and the sport is not expensive. Enthusiasts of this sport can share the excitement without any risk. Under an open parasail they swing in the air through the aid of a special rope of 100 meter length hooking it to a very powerful Motorboat (when flying over water) or jeep (when flying on lane). As the jeep/motor boat moves, the Para sail (round shaped Canopy) open up and flier goes airborne within minutes. The landing is safe both on land and water. This is a cheapest and safest of all aero sports activities which permit humans to fly. It is amazing that a ten year old Biscoe Boy, Obaid Yousuf undertook a parasailing ride over Dal Lake in the year 1999.He set record of being youngest parasailer of the state. He was later felicitated and awarded a cash prize of Rs.1000/-by his school.
Published in Rising Kashmir on 16th Nov. 2008
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