AGENCY
NEW DELHI, Apr 9
The online IRCTC window for booking heli tickets to the Kedarnath shrine was shut within five hours of opening on Tuesday, as all slots were filled till May 31. With all tickets sold out, bookings were no longer available on the IRCTC website.
However, this has turned into a profitable business opportunity for touts and black marketeers dealing in Kedarnath heli tickets. Most of them, with strong links to travel agencies in Delhi and other parts of the country, are offering tickets for any date, irrespective of IRCTC availability. They are charging a minimum of ?25,000 per person, despite the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) having fixed the price at less than ?10,000.
According to UCADA, the heli ticket price from Guptkashi to Kedarnath has been fixed at ?8,532, while the fare from Phata Helipad is ?6,062 and from Sirsi ?6,060.
Officials in the state government are aware of the activities of touts and heli ticket black marketeers, but they say no action can be taken without any foolproof evidence. “This is an annual feature during the Char Dham pilgrimage in Uttarakhand, especially for Kedarnath. We understand how touts crop up during this season, but it’s difficult to act in the absence of solid evidence. The cyber police and intelligence wing are in a position to take appropriate action,” said a UCADA official not willing to be named.
The Char Dham pilgrimage 2025 to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath will commence on April 30 with the opening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri. The portals of Kedarnath will open on May 2. Helicopter services will also be started from Guptkashi, Sirsi, and Phata helipads on this day. UCADA had announced April 8 as the date for opening online booking for Kedarnath heli service tickets for the period between May 2 and May 31 through the IRCTC website heliyatra.irctc. co.in.
However, the tickets for the entire month were sold out before 5 pm.
UCADA CEO Sonika said that Kedarnath heli tickets are being booked exclusively through the official IRCTC website, but all tickets up to May 31 were sold out within a few hours of the booking window opening. The CEO informed that the date for the next round of heli ticket bookings — for the period after May 31 — will be announced later.
This year, UCADA has issued permits to nine aviation companies to provide helicopter services for Kedarnath. These include Pawan Hans, Aryan Aviation, Thumby Aviation, Trans Bharat Aviation, Global Victra Helicorp Ltd, Himalayan Heli, Kestrel, and Aero Aircraft. Nearly 23,150 online tickets available across all nine heli operators were sold out within five hours.
Notably, only a limited number of tickets are available for online booking. A maximum of six tickets can be booked using one ID, while up to 12 passengers can be accommodated under a single ID if they are travelling as a group.
