Ishfaq-ul-Hassan

Srinagar: President Patil and her family reached Srinagar by road on Sunday as her chopper could not take off from Gulmarg due to bad weather. “The flight had to be cancelled due to fog so she came to Srinagar by road,” said Mohammad Yousuf, SHO Gulmarg police station.

It is for the first time in 19 years a dignitary has travelled by road in the militancy-infested valley. The president had arrived in Gulmarg on Saturday.

The president also had to call off her visit to Bhaderwah in Doda district where she was scheduled to inaugurate the extension campus of Jammu University on Sunday, as her helicopter could not take off from Gulmarg due to heavy rain and low visibility. In her absence, chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad flew to Bhaderwah — his hometown — and inaugurated the campus.

Later on Sunday, an Indian Air Force chopper escorting Patil’s family’s helicopter made an emergency landing in a paddy field. The MI-17 helicopter, which had five officials on board, was tailing another IAF chopper carrying the president’s husband Devisingh Shekhawat, son and daughter when it was forced to land in a field at Sakhras village in Srigufwara, Anantnag district, 15 km from Pahalgam.

Muneer Khan, deputy inspector general of police (south Kashmir) said there were no casualties and passengers were airlifted in another chopper.

The incident occurred at 12.30 pm when the helicopters were on their way to the tourist resort of Pahalgam.

“A technical snag forced the pilot to land in the open field,” he said.

Station house officer, Srigufawara police station, Bashir Ahmad said that within 10 minutes of the emergency landing, another chopper landed at the site to carry the stranded passengers.

“Later two more helicopters with engineers and workers on board landed at the site to carry out repair work,” said Bashir.

He said the locals first informed the police about the emergency landing.

“Within the the next 10 minutes, fire engines, medical teams and police reached the spot,” he said.

Source : DNA