President Murmu in Sabarimala: Kerala DGP rules out security lapse; PWD prepared helipad as per guidelines

Pathanamthitta: Kerala police chief, Ravada Chandrasekhar, responded to the incident in Pramadam where the tyres of the helicopter carrying President Droupadi Murmu sank in the concrete of the helipad. He told Mathrubhumi News that there was no security lapse relating to the President’s visit.

The helipad was prepared quite late. Arrangements had already been made for the landing earlier. The helicopter landed about 5 feet away from the designated spot. This was on a portion of the helipad with unset concrete, which prevented the helicopter from moving forward. As a result, it was moved to the originally planned area, which was about four to five feet away. Other than this, there were no issues with the helicopter or the President’s landing, Ravada Chandrasekhar said.

The PWD was responsible for constructing and concreting the helipad. According to PWD, the helipad was prepared at the spot indicated by Air Force personnel. The concreting was completed quite late at night. The PWD also stated that arrangements were made to remove sand and debris, and the work was completed in the presence of Air Force personnel.

The helicopter tyres sank into the concrete only after the President had disembarked. The helicopter, carrying the President from Thiruvananthapuram, was initially scheduled to land at a different location, but due to adverse weather conditions, the decision was changed at the last moment. The helicopter eventually landed at Pramadam Indoor Stadium. The helipad at Pramadam was completed only by early morning, which meant the concrete surface had not fully hardened. The helicopter landed less than 12 hours after the concrete was poured.