“Papa, I am very happy. I saw snow, I ate snow. Am going for paragliding. Am really thrilled”: these were 12-year-old Advik’s last words before he died in an accident 15 minutes later. Does it make easier for the bereaved to know that their loved ones died happy? Perhaps. With a shapeshifter like grief, you can hardly tell. Amid the numbing physical (his fractures are still healing) and psychological pain, Advik’s father Rishabh has made a resolve – to help others avoid losing a loved one in such an avoidable tragedy, to stop his son being yet another name in the long list of accident victims on the hilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh. “We are not getting anything out of this, but we want the state government to sit up and take notice. This was not the first accident related to the unregulated paragliding business in the state. But we want our son’s to be the last,” Rishabh added.
Bir Billing is a well-known paragliding site in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Rishabh, along with his wife Sharda, son Advik and 7-year-old daughter, had gone for an end-of-the-year trip to the state in December last year. They were staying with a friend in Palampur and had seen Kullu and Manali. Their next stop was Bir Billing, and Advik could not wait to try paragliding. “He was very enthusiastic about adventure sports. His excitement was rubbing on us too,” Rishabh Tripathi, who works in an MNC in Bengaluru, recalls.
The Fated Day
On December 22, the two families reached the site at around 1:30 pm. Brokers from paragliding agencies soon approached them and they chose one. They were told that the paragliding spot was another 10-15 km away and they would have to reach there by a jeep. Since Advik’s sister was found to be too young for the adventure, she stayed back. Advik, his parents, and Rishabh’s friend decided to go. They were made to sign a waiver that said that the agency was not responsible for any paragliding mishap, but nothing was mentioned about the journey to the take-off point.
The jeep, which comprised two rows of seats under the roof and another two in the open back, was bereft of safety accessories. There were nine passengers that day in an SUV which was designed to carry only five. Rishabh and group had occupied the seats at the roofless back portion. The driver and four paragliding pilots, who were picked up on the way, sat at the front in the enclosed space. A sudden collision with a two-wheeler made the driver lose control of the vehicle and the jeep tumbled over into a 15-foot gorge. While everyone received grievous injuries, Advik’s head hit a rock. Doctors later said that his death might have been instantaneous, but no one knows for sure what would have been the outcome if they were given immediate medical help. The driver and the pilots had fled the accident site.
Rishabh had blacked out and his last lucid memory from before the accident is of Advik telling him how happy he was. From others’ accounts, he learnt that passersby helped to get them out of the gorge and someone called an ambulance. The vehicle arrived in some 20 minutes, but it did not have even basic medical aid available. The situation was same in the first hospital they were taken to. They were then taken to another hospital where their wounds were finally attended to.
The family heard later that when the driver was nabbed by the police, he claimed that he had asked the tourists to sit in the closed portion of the jeep since it was safer. However, Rishabh refutes that. He also adds that their angst is not directed at the driver. “The driver lost control of the vehicle and we can accept that. However, we want several other questions answered. Why are vehicles that normally transport cargo allowed to ferry passengers? Why are such open vehicles allowed on hilly roads? Why is the sector run by agencies which do not follow safety rules? Despite numerous accidents in the past, why are rules not strictly enforced by the government?”
A Death Trap
A quick Google search with keywords ‘Bir Billing accident’ throws up articles about numerous deaths caused by blatant flouting of safety rules and unqualified paragliding instructors. A report in News18 Hindi says that the 14-km path from Bir to Billing is full of capricious turns and difficult roads, but overloaded vehicles run there unchecked. The agencies buy cars which have maximum capacity of five passengers, and then modify the vehicle to ferry 15 or more people. It is not possible that the authorities do not know about this dangerous practice as there is a police station some 200 metres away from the road.
Bir Billing shot into fame in 2013 when a Paragliding World Cup was held there. It was advertised to be an international spot for adventure sports and brings huge profits for the state. However, when it comes to safety measures, the site is found to be severely lacking. The director of Billing Paragliding Association, Anurag Sharma, said that there are around 150 licensed paragliding instructors in the area, and an equal number who do not have license. Multiple alarms about such lapses have fallen on deaf ears. The highest price in this game of lax enforcement is paid by unsuspecting tourists, including foreign ones, who come here after booking trips through travel agencies.
Rishabh shares a picture book in which Advik had taken photos of various animals and labelled them neatly. He was passionate about nature, the father adds. On a digital wall the boy’s parents made to pay him tributes, his friends describe him as an intelligent and lively boy taken away too soon.
How many Adviks will it take for the Himachal Pradesh government to take notice?
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