India’s First Seaplane Project to be inaugurated on 31st October

The first of the five seaplane services in Gujarat will be inaugurated on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

• The first of the five seaplane services in Gujarat will be inaugurated on October 31, the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• It shall connect Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity in Kevadia in Narmada district.
• Ministry: Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• Other spots: Dharoi dam (Mehsana district) to connect Ambaji and Shatrunjay dam (Bhavnagar district) and Tapi in the next phase.
• The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had requested state governments of Gujarat, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the administration of Andaman & Nicobar to propose potential locations for setting up water aerodromes to boost the tourism sector.
• Impact it will have on the environment
• The water aerodrome is not a listed project/activity in the Schedule to the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006 and its amendments. 
• However, the Expert Appraisal Committee was of the opinion that the activities proposed under the water aerodrome project may have a similar type of impact as that of an airport.
• In its proposal seeking environmental clearance, the Director of Aviation, Government of Gujarat, had expressed fears of environmental impact during the stage of construction. 
• Also, according to the state government, during seaplane operations, there will be turbulence created in the water while takeoff and landing of seaplanes which will lead to more mixing of oxygen in the water having a positive impact on the aquatic ecosystem near seaplane operations 
• A seaplane is a fixed-winged aero plane designed for taking off and landing on water.
• It offers the public the speed of an aero plane with the utility of a boat.
• There are two main types of seaplane: flying boats (often called hull seaplanes) and floatplanes.
• In India, Jal Hans, a commercial seaplane service based in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was launched as a pilot project on 30 December 2010 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.