 "Helicopter carrying President Draupadi Murmu got stuck on helipad")
A helicopter carrying President Droupadi Murmu got stuck briefly after landing in Kerala. Its wheels sank into a soft spot on a new concrete helipad at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Pramadam because the original landing spot was unusable due to bad weather.
According to officials at the scene, the helipad surface partially collapsed just after the helicopter landed. Police and fire personnel quickly arrived and manually pushed the aircraft out of the sunken area to secure the site.
The stadium was chosen as the landing spot at the last minute, so the helipad was constructed there late on Tuesday, a senior police officer told news agency PTI.
The original plan was to land at Nilackal near Pamba, but bad weather forced the change to Pramadam.
“The concrete had not set completely and therefore, it could not handle the helicopter’s weight when it landed and depressions were formed where the wheels touched the ground,” the officer said.
President Murmu is visiting Kerala for four days, from October 21 to 24, during which she plans to offer prayers at the Sabarimala temple.
She arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday and was welcomed by Kerala’s Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Union Minister George Kurian.
The President of India’s official X account shared the reception, stating that Governor Arlekar, CM Vijayan, and Minister Kurian received President Murmu upon her arrival in Thiruvananthapuram.
Kerala CM Vijayan also posted on X, expressing a warm welcome and saying the President’s visit was a great honor for the state and its people.
A statement confirmed that on October 22, the President will participate in darshan and aarti at the Sabarimala Temple.