Inclement weather forced the helicopter in which Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat was travelling to make an emergency landing at a college in Gairsain on Tuesday.Confirming the incident, MlA Madan Singh Bist, who was flying with the Chief Minister, told The Pioneer that they landed at Government Inter College (GIC), Gairsain campus. “We went to Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) guest house on foot and informed the local administration about the emergency landing,” he added.
“We decided to stay in a guest house of GMVN and informed to the CM security staff about the emergency landing over the phone,” the MlA said.
The Chief Minister’s helicopter took off from lohaghat for Dehradun at 4.45 pm. It was supposed to reach Dehradun by 6.15 pm so Chief Minister’s security personnel were waiting for him at Dehradun helipad.
As the news about the emergency landing broke, security officials were stirred into a tizzy and alerted the district administration concerned and rushed to the spot. Meanwhile, Chamoli district magistrate reached Gairsain and local Congress leaders and workers reached to GMVN hotels. The CM will come to Dehradun on Wednesday if weather permits.
According to sources, the pilot decided to make the emergency landing due to poor visibility. He had to fly more than 20 minutes to find safe place for landing and later decided to land in Gairsain.