In a viral video, 53-year-old Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was seen undertaking a tandem skydive in Haryana. The dive reportedly took place at Skyhigh, India's only civilian skydiving drop zone at Narnaul airstrip, Haryana.
Celebrating the maiden World Skydiving Day, Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday took it to the sky to feel the thrill of the aerosport event. The 53-year-old minister in a viral video was seen undertaking a tandem skydive in Haryana. As per reports, the dive took place at Skyhigh, India's only civilian skydiving drop zone at Narnaul airstrip, Haryana.
Commenting on the thrilling experience, the union minister termed it super exciting and said, "Today is a thrilling day for me but, more importantly, it is an important day for the world and for the world of aerosports, because World Skydiving Day is being celebrated for the first time. I can see aerosports and tourism touching new heights from today.
"Thousands of Indians used to enjoy these sports in Dubai, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand and other places and they will now get to experience it here. This will also boost tourism. I have flagged off India's first skydiving aircraft and I wish great success to the team. As the tourism minister, it is my responsibility to develop new tourist spots. We would like to encourage this in more places, including Madhya Pradesh and Goa," he said.
From now onwards, World Skydiving Day will be celebrated every year on the second Saturday in July.
World's leading skydiving associations - The US Parachute Association (USPA), Australian Parachute Federation, British Skydiving and the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association- have taken this initiative to "celebrate the unforgettable experience of skydiving while also setting the record for the most skydives on this day worldwide."