Dharamshala, Oct. 23 -- Former chief minister and leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday said the Himachal government should make operational the paragliding school in Bir-Billing that remains closed even after nine months of its inauguration. In a statement, Thakur said the institution, which could have trained hundreds of children every year to become paragliding pilots, has fallen victim to government "failures" and a "lack of coordination" between various state departments. "Despite the extremely favourable natural conditions for paragliding in Himachal Pradesh, the government is unable to capitalise on it," he said. Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had inaugurated the Bir Paragliding Centre-cum-hotel complex on January 25. The total cost of construction of the complex is approximately Rs.9 crore. Jai Ram Thakur also said that Bir-Billing is considered one of the safest destinations in the world for cross-country paragliding and requires institutional support commensurate with its international reputation....