Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Industrialist Mittal passes away

Noted industrialist Banwari Lal Mittal passed away today morning at his residence in Gyaneshwor, following a protracted illness. He was 79.
He had returned to Kathmandu on Monday after getting treatment at Medant Hospital, Gurgaon in India. Mittal had been ill since last one month. He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.
Mittal served as the president of Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC) and Marwadi Sewa Samiti. NCC has condoled Mittal’s death, saying that he was an active member of chambers movement in Nepal. He led NCC in the 1990s. A leading figure in the Nepali chamber movement, Mittal was also the founder chairman of the Contractors Association of Nepal and a founder member of Nepal Eye Hospital. A man of high moral integrity, Mittal however, made a name for himself in the aviation sector.
Best known for pioneering commercial helicopter services in Nepal, Mittal had started Shree Airlines around 16 years ago. In the 1990s, Mittal ventured out of the family business and entered the aviation sector, establishing Air Ananya – that has been renamed as Shree Airlines offering pilgrimage tours in Manasarovar, Mt Kailash and Muktinath, later – with a fully-owned fleet of five MI-17 helicopters when the government launched a liberal aviation policy.
Transporting cargo and essential items like food and medicines to remote areas that lack road transportation, the carrier quickly established itself in the domestic aviation market.
Today, Shree Airlines is the largest helicopter operator in Nepal with a fleet of six 24-seat Russian-made MI-17 helicopters and four Eurocopter AS350 B3e helicopters. In 2010, Shree Airlines spread its wings outside Nepal, flying baggage and equipment for United Nations Peacekeeping Forces in Africa, according to the airlines, that ha also condoled the demise of Mittal.
Involved in family-owned construction and textile businesses in the beginning, Mittal was also affiliated with various institutions like North Nepal Tea State and various social organisations.

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