Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna had a narrow escape on Saturday as his chopper had to make an emergency landing due to inclement weather and strayed over Rishikesh for about 20 minutes.
Taking off from the Jolly Grant Airport, the chopper was on its way to Roorkee where the CM was scheduled to participate in the inauguration of Haj House in Piran Kaliyar. But it could not cross Haridwar due to bad weather. Seeing the inclement weather, the pilot decided to return.
Meanwhile, weather pack was also noticed over the Jolly Grant Airport. The pilot passed this message to the Air Traffic control (ATC) that he was returning from Haridwar due to inclement weather. He was unable to see anything on way to the airport. He also informed that he is hovering in the sky. Seeing no way out, he diverted the chopper towards Rishikesh and had to make an emergency landing.
The message sent the security agency in a tizzy. In the meantime, the chopper, after hovering in the sky for about 20 minutes, made an emergency landing in a school ground at Rishikesh at 4.30 pm as the pilot noticed the ground. Jolly Grant Airport's chief engineer K Sitayya, while talking to The Pioneer, confirmed the emergency landing by the CM's chopper.
As per the norms, Chief Minister security moves to the venue a day in advance. So, the security officials were at Roorkee. The officials found it difficult to arrange the security for the CM in a hurry when he returned by road from Rishikesh. The CM was supposed to join Uttarakhand Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi and Union Minister for Water Resources Harish Rawat for the inauguration of newly constructed Haj House in Roorkee.