Stranded by blocked roads but determined not to miss their exam, four BEd students from Rajasthan took to the skies. They hired a chartered helicopter
from Haldwani to reach Munsyari in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district, where they were scheduled to appear for their test on Wednesday. A video capturing the students flying in the chopper to their exam centre has been widely circulated on social media. As per a Times of India report, the students — Omaram Jat, Magaram Jat, Prakash Godara Jat, and Lucky Chaudhari — each paid Rs 10,400 to book the helicopter and ensure they didn’t miss their exam. They are enrolled at Uttarakhand Open University in Haldwani and had reached the city on Monday for the test, which was scheduled to be held at Government Degree College, Munsyari. However, every taxi driver they approached declined to take them, as the Haldwani–Pithoragarh and Tanakpur–Pithoragarh routes had been blocked due to landslides. Clips of their helicopter journey have sparked amusement online. One user commented, “Humare zamane me ft Gen Z.” Another wrote, “Never a dull day.” A third quipped, “areee bhaisaaab yeh Kya hain.” Meanwhile, one person pointed out, “Helicopter services chalti hai udhr almost daily inhone koi personally helicopter book nahin kia hai.. 3-4 hazar rupe fare hai Haldwani to Munsyari.”
“We started losing hope and thought we might miss the exam and lose an entire year. That is when someone told us that a chopper company, Heritage Aviation, offers helicopter rides to Munsyari,” said Omaram, as quoted by TOI.
The helicopter covered the Haldwani–Munsyari distance — nearly 280 km by road, which usually takes about 10 hours — in just 25 to 30 minutes. “We reached Munsyari on time for the exam and returned by the same chopper the next day,” said Narpat. “It was expensive, but we're relieved we could sit for the exam,” he added, the TOI report mentioned.
