Himachal: Great start to Paragliding World Cup

Himachal Pradesh: The Paragliding World Cup kicked off with a bang at Bir Billing in Kangra district this afternoon. Over a hundred pilots took off from the Billing venue and filled the skies with colourful paragliders. Over 105 paragliding pilots from across the world, including eight women pilots, have registered for the event and they will compete in various categories in the World Cup that will go on till November 7. Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) chairman RS Bali flagged off the event at Billing. Addressing the participants and others on the occasion, he said the Himachal government is promoting adventure tourism in the state. Hosting the Paragliding World Cup, which is seeing participants from 38 countries, will help Himachal emerge as a major destination for adventure sports. The Himachal government has chalked out a roadmap to promote tourism in the state and its results will be visible in the near future. Bali announced a grant of Rs 31 lakh for the Bir Paragliding Association, which is hosting the Paragliding World Cup event. He said Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has directed him to extend all possible assistance to host the Paragliding World Cup. Welcoming the paragliding pilots from abroad, he said the people of Himachal are united to welcome them to the state. Paragliding World Cup Association President Goran Dimishkivski said this is the second time the World Cup is being held in Bir Billing. The Paragliding World Cup in Bir Billing was first held in 2015. Paragliding pilots from across the world prefer to fly from Billing, which is one of the best paragliding take off sites in the world. “I hope in the near future the Paragliding World Championship, which was the biggest event of this sport, will also be held in Bir Billing,” he said. Anurag Sharma, president of Bir Paragliding Association, while thanking the government and the tourism department for helping in organising the World Cup, said that Bir Billing is emerging as the top paragliding destination in the world. The association is trying to organise more and more events in Bir Billing to attract paragliding pilots from all over the world. Bir Billing witnessed a huge rush of domestic and foreign tourists due to the organisation of the Paragliding World Cup. Most of the cafes and hotels in the area were packed with tourists and did brisk business. Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) and Congress MLA from Baijnath Kishori Lal and former MLA Surinder Kaku were also present at the inauguration ceremony. Kishori Lal demanded that a lift be installed in the parking lot of the temple for the benefit of tourists visiting the Baijnath temple. Bali announced that the tourism department would install a lift in the parking lot of the Baijnath temple.