Pathanamthitta (Kerala), Oct 22: The wheels of the helicopter carrying President Droupadi Murmu for her Sabarimala visit got stuck in a depression on the newly concreted helipad at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Pramadam when it landed on Wednesday morning.
After the President left for Pamba by road, visuals on TV channels showed several policemen and fire personnel pushing the helicopter’s wheels out of the small depressions created when it landed on the concrete.
Pathanamthitta District Collector Prem Krishnan said that there were no security concerns regarding the helipad, as otherwise the President’s cavalcade would have returned to Thiruvananthapuram by road.
He said that the helicopter had landed a few feet back from the ‘H’ on the helipad, but admitted that where the wheels touched the concrete there was a slight — half-an-inch — of “sinking”.
“We cannot even term it as a depression,” he added.
The incident led to the Congress and BJP alleging lapses on the part of the state government in the security arrangements.
Former Union minister of state V Muraleedharan termed it a “security lapse” and demanded action against those responsible.
He also claimed that it showed the Kerala government’s “carelessness” in handling the President’s security.
Muraleedharan contended that the issue cannot be trivialised and sought an investigation into the alleged security lapse.
He said that no untoward incident happened due to the grace of Lord Ayyappa.
Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony alleged that there was a “failure” on the part of the government in formulating a plan B and that is what led to the incident.
He was referring to the last minute change in the location, from Nilackal near Pamba to the stadium in Pramadam, of the helicopter landing.
On the other hand, CPI(M) MLA from Konni constituency K U Jenish Kumar claimed that the wheels of the helicopter did not sink into the concrete and only looked like that to the media which was watching from afar.
“I was standing close to the aircraft. There was nothing like that. The helicopter landed a couple feet back from the ‘H’ painted on the landing pad and it was just pushed back to its centre as requested by the pilots,” he claimed.
He further said that even if there was a slight depression in the concrete, it would not affect the helicopter as it was going to fly upwards.
The MLA also said that all security arrangements were made in accordance with the instructions of the President’s security team.
He claimed that the stadium was selected as the location to land the helicopter late Tuesday night and therefore, quick-drying ready mix concrete was used to prepare the helipad.
Earlier in the morning, a senior police officer from the district said the stadium was fixed as the helicopter landing location at the last moment, and therefore, the helipad was created there late on Tuesday.
The landing was originally planned at Nilackal near Pamba, but was changed to Pramadam due to inclement weather.
“The concrete had not set completely, and therefore it could not handle the helicopter’s weight when it landed, causing depressions where the wheels touched the ground,” the officer said.
The President, who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday evening for a four-day official visit to the state, left for Pathanamthitta district, where the hill shrine is located, on Wednesday morning.
From Pramadam, Murmu travelled to Pamba, the foothills of Sabarimala, by road. (PTI)
