Kullu: Two days after a 26-year-old tourist from Greater Noida fell to his death during a tandem paragliding flight at Bir-Billing, the Kangra administration on Thursday ordered a magisterial inquiry to establish the circumstances leading to the accident and determine whether safety violations or negligence were involved.The 4-member fact-finding committee, constituted by Baijnath SDM Sankalp Gautam, will examine the validity of the tandem pilot’s licence, registration and approval of the paragliding operator, maintenance of the equipment used in the flight, and compliance with prescribed safety norms and weather-related restrictions.The committee, headed by the Baijnath tehsildar, includes the SHO of Bir police station, an inspector (hospitality) from the district tourism office in Dharamshala and technical expert Jyoti Thakur. The committee has been directed to submit its findings and recommendations within 14 days.The inquiry will also record statements of the pilot, operator and eyewitnesses and examine relevant operational records. The paragliding supervisor at Bir-Billing has been directed to provide all necessary assistance and make the relevant documents and personnel available to the committee.The order comes amid growing concerns over safety standards at Bir-Billing, one of India’s most prominent paragliding destinations, following a series of recent fatal accidents and rescue operations in the region.Shubham Dobliyal, who was holidaying in Bir with his sister and three cousins, died on Tuesday evening after falling from a tandem paraglider shortly after taking off from Billing. The 26-year-old reportedly fell from a height of more than 200 metres and landed in a forest area near the designated landing site.His tandem pilot, Vinay Kumar (45), a resident of Kotli village in Baijnath tehsil, landed safely and subsequently alerted other pilots about the passenger’s fall. Preliminary investigations indicated that the passenger’s safety harness might have come undone during the flight, though the exact cause remains undetermined.Police have registered a case against the pilot under Sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (negligent act endangering human life) of the BNS.This is the second paragliding fatality at Bir-Billing in 17 days. On Oct 25, a Bulgarian national, Maksim Gavrilichenko (47), died after crashing his paraglider in the Dhauladhar mountains after taking off from Bir-Billing.The administration had temporarily suspended solo flying at Bir-Billing on Oct 26 following the Bulgarian’s death, but withdrew the order after protests by paragliders who had gathered in the area for the winter flying season.The recent accidents have also brought scrutiny on the enforcement of safety regulations and the tandem pilots.On Oct 31, Kangra police conducted dope tests on paragliding pilots and operators in Bir-Billing.Last year, two tourists from Gujarat and a Canadian solo paraglider died in separate crashes in Kangra district. Since 2009, at least 34 people, including tourists and solo pilots from India and abroad, have died in paragliding accidents in Kangra and Kullu districts.
