[<<So, is this the first ever seaplane service to be envisioned in India? Alt News conducted a fact check and this is what we found. The first ever commercial seaplane service was launched in India in 2010. Jal Hans, a service which was jointly operated by Pawan Hans, the public sector helicopter service provider and the administration of the Andaman & Nicobar islands was inaugurated in December that year. Then Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel confirmed this in a recent tweet. The Jal Hans service has now been stalled. ... The same aircraft that was used by Gadkari was deployed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ride from Ahmedabad to Mehsana as can be confirmed by the registration number N181KQ.>>
(Excerpted from the analysis-cum-report at sl. no. I below.) <<As far the history of aviation is concerned, the seaplane is a curiosity whose best days are far behind it. Its potential as a mass carrier died with the Spruce Goose, a gigantic wooden boat plane designed by Howard Hughes which retains the world record for the longest wingspan of any aircraft ever flown. The Goose made a single trial flight before being mothballed, WWII having ended during its development.>> (Excerpted from the analysis-cum-report at sl. no. II below.) <<The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister took to Twitter to ask why security guidelines were relaxed for Mr Modi. “How is it that the security guidelines were relaxed for this flight? No Z+ protectee is allowed to fly in a single engine aircraft, much less the PM of our country,” he asked. Sources in the civil aviation ministry said the single-engine seaplane used by Mr Modi on Tuesday belongs to a Japanese company Setouchi Holdings and was used by low cost carrier SpiceJet to carry out seaplane trials last Saturday at Mumbai’s Girgaum Chowpatty. The security rule-book says the Prime Minister can only fly in twin or multi-engine aircraft.>> (Excerpted from the report at sl. no. III below.)] I/III. [Pls. visit the website, by clicking on the link below, to see the photos and screenshots.] https://www.altnews.in/pm-modi-travel-first-ever-seaplane-india-no/ Did PM Modi travel on the first ever seaplane in India? No By Arjun Sidharth -12th December 2017 On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s website www.narendramodi.in, the headline for one of the stories on December 12 gleamed ‘PM Modi becomes first passenger of India’s first ever seaplane!‘. The article on the website referred to the PM’s seaplane ride from Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad to Dharoi dam in Mehsana as part of his campaign ahead of the second phase of polling in the Gujarat elections. The headline was later altered. The claim that this was the first ever seaplane ride in India was reiterated from the official BJP Twitter account and by BJP leaders and functionaries. Numerous television channels and publications played it up, heralding it as a bold and unique move that would revolutionise transportation by augmenting waterways travel within the country. So, is this the first ever seaplane service to be envisioned in India? Alt News conducted a fact check and this is what we found. The first ever commercial seaplane service was launched in India in 2010. Jal Hans, a service which was jointly operated by Pawan Hans, the public sector helicopter service provider and the administration of the Andaman & Nicobar islands was inaugurated in December that year. Then Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel confirmed this in a recent tweet. The Jal Hans service has now been stalled. View image on Twitter View image on Twitter Praful Patel ✔ @praful_patel India's first seaplane named 'Jal Hans' was first launched in 2010 during my tenure as Civil Aviation Minister which greatly facilitated connectivity & tourism in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.#seaplane 6:51 PM - Dec 9, 2017 20 20 Replies 207 207 Retweets 400 400 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy Another governmental initiative to launch seaplane service in India was by the Govt of Kerala in June 2013 when the Kerala seaplane service promoted by Kerala Tourism Infrastructure Ltd was announced to connect the waterways of the state. The project however failed to commence owing to protests by the local fishing communities. Then Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy had tweeted regarding the same. Oommen Chandy ✔ @Oommen_Chandy #Seaplane arrives in #Kerala Seabird Seaplane to Link Destinations in Kerala, Lakshadweep - The New Indian Express http://bit.ly/1ZtGP0m 11:16 AM - Oct 12, 2015 Seabird Seaplane to Link Destinations in Kerala, Lakshadweep The ten-seater, which landed on Friday night, will be based at Cochin International Airport Limited. newindianexpress.com 11 11 Replies 179 179 Retweets 200 200 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy The attempt to launch seaplane services in India was not limited to the Government. Private players had announced seaplane services way back in 2011-12. Seabird Seaplane Pvt Ltd was incorporated in 2012 and had announced services in Kerala and Lakshadweep. Another service provider Mehair started services in 2011 in Andaman & Nicobar islands and later expanded to Maharashtra and Goa. These private service providers however ceased operations due to commercial non-viability and issues over governmental permissions. View image on Twitter View image on Twitter MEHAIR SEAPLANE @MaritimeEnergy1 India's one of the Gorgeous actress blogs about her seaplane journey to Havelock.. @GulPanag 3:49 PM - Dec 1, 2013 6 6 Replies 48 48 Retweets 82 82 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy There is a concerted effort to revive commercial seaplane travel in India despite the initial hiccup. Recently on December 9, Spicejet conducted sea trials at Mumbai’s Girgaum Chowpatty where Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Ashok Gajapati Raju were present. Spicejet aims to procure 100 amphibian aircrafts in a bid to boost regional connectivity by exploring the transportation potential of waterways. The same aircraft that was used by Gadkari was deployed for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ride from Ahmedabad to Mehsana as can be confirmed by the registration number N181KQ. Intriguingly, when Alt News checked the flight path of the aircraft, it was discovered that the plane had arrived at Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan on December 3. In the last 90 days, the Quest Kodiak single engine aircraft had travelled across the globe from Greece to Saudi Arabia to New Zealand. Flight path N181KQ India has roughly 14,500 km of navigable waterways. Introduction of seaplane travel is a right step in the direction of diversifying the transportation system within the country. PM Modi’s seaplane ride with an eye on the Gujarat elections however was touted as the first ever in the country by the Prime Minister’s website and repeated by news outlets when that was clearly not the case, nor was the PM the first Indian to travel in a seaplane. This narrative was initially played up and then quietly retracted on PM Modi’s website. If you like our stories, do follow Alt News on Facebook. Media did not bother to fact-check this incorrect information portrayed by PM’s website and BJP and blindly relayed the story. Though PM’s website has changed the title, media houses have not issued a clarification. The false report was likely disseminated with the intention of bolstering the image of the Prime Minister and the ruling party regardless of its accuracy. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
