Day 1: Over 250 passengers arrive and leave Dehradun in 10 flights

DEHRADUN: The domestic flights started operating from Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun from Monday. On the first day, 10 flights operated from the airport and over 250 passengers either reached or left Dehradun for Delhi and Pantnagar.
A flight from Mumbai was also scheduled to operate but was later cancelled.
Director of Jolly Grant Airport DK Gautam told TOI, “The first flight came from Delhi on Monday morning with three passengers and the return flight also had three passengers.”
While the flight from Pantnagar had 17 passengers, eight people from Dehradun took the flight for Pantnagar.Till the filing of this report, the air authorites were expecting the arrival of 127 passengers and departure of 140 passengers on the first day. The last flight for Delhi on Monday was scheduled for 7.25pm.
Two people, who took the flight to Delhi, said that they were happy with the arrangements.
“With very little passengers, there is no problem of delay or queues. I had come to Uttarakhand on a vacation to spend some time with family but due to the lockdown, was stuck here. The opening of flight services has given me the opportunity to return back to Delhi and join work as soon as possible,” said a passenger.
Another passenger from Pantnagar said that even though he has to spend time in quarantine, “the happiness of reaching home was immense”.
The state government has made a 14-day quarantine period mandatory for all people taking flights to Dehradun. For which, around 1,000 rooms have been reserved in 20 hotels and a room costs between Rs 700 and Rs 8,000. Urban development minister and state government spokesperson Madan Kaushik said, "As per the financial budget, one can book a room of choice. Our health teams have been deployed at the airport and proper care is being taken of each passenger.”
Meanwhile, the district administration along with a team of health department examined 114 passengers who arrived at the Jolly Grant Airport and sent them to hotels acquired by the administration for the 14-day institutional quarantine.
Dehradun district magistrate Ashish Srivastava said, "A list of hotels along with the tariffs has been placed at the airport and the passengers are being sent to institutional quarantine after their medical checkup. After the completion of the quarantine period and subsequent health checkup, the passengers will be allowed to leave."
The DM has also asked police to take stern action against those providing incorrect information at the district borders to police and health department teams. The officials said that it has been found that some people coming from other districts and states to Dehradun have provided incorrect cellphone numbers. "Police have been asked to visit the address provided by such people and verify their details and lodge an FIR if needed under relevant sections," he added.