Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday flagged off a Calcutta-Digha weekly helicopter service for which a resident in the heart of the Bengal capital would have to travel an hour and a half to reach the Behala airstrip.

From Behala, a seven-seater Pawan Hans chopper is scheduled to take off every Saturday and reach Digha in 45 minutes. But the total travel time would be around two hours and fifteen minutes for a person staying in central Calcutta. Reaching Digha by road from the metro takes a little more than three hours.

While the time difference is approximately an hour, the pocket pinch differs significantly.

A one-way chopper ride will cost a passenger Rs 2,000 but a one-way air-conditioned bus ticket from Esplanade to Digha Rs 300. Trains from Howrah reach Digha in a little over three hours. An AC chair car on the Tamralipta Express comes for Rs 370.

Helicopter services were started in several other parts of the state such as in Cooch Behar and Bolpur, but were discontinued within a few months for lack of passengers.

The service between Calcutta and Bolpur was stopped because the helipad is 4km away from the Birbhum town. The passengers had to hire a car to reach the helipad.

Report by our bureau, picture by Jahangar Badsa