This story is from March 28, 2020

Kolkata: Chopper takes off with medicine for Tripura

A Pawan Hans helicopter took off from Kolkata on Friday morning for a marathon sortie with two refuelling stops to reach Tripura with an important consignment of medicines for treatment of Covid-19 patients there.
Kolkata: Chopper takes off with medicine for Tripura
Representative image
KOLKATA: A Pawan Hans helicopter took off from Kolkata on Friday morning for a marathon sortie with two refuelling stops to reach Tripura with an important consignment of medicines for treatment of Covid-19 patients there.
A flight from Kolakta to Agartala usually takes one-and-a-half hours. But with passenger fights, which go over Bangladesh, being shut after the lockdown, the helicopter chartered by the Tripura government to transport the medicine will reach Agaratala 18 hours after it took off from Kolkata at 10.30 am.
The helicopter would take a circuitous route via Bagdogra and Guwahati. In its hold was 350kg medicine, mostly hydroxychloroquine, that is being used to treat Covid-19 patients.
The helicopter carrying the consignment did not fly over Bangladesh with a refuelleing stop-over in the country but chose to skirt it and fly over the what is being referred to as the chicken neck, virtually travelling the land route.
India has prohibited export of hydroxychloroquine and its associated formulations and also prohibited its over-the-counter sales, making precriptions a must.
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