Akhilesh Yadav's helicopter fails to land due to poor weather

ALLAHABAD: Poor visibility combined with inclement weather played truant, as the much awaited visit of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav was thwarted when his helicopter Yadav could not land at the Police Lines ground. The helicopter scheduled to reach Allahabad had to return to the state capital, informed Samajwadi Party (SP) district president, Pandhari Yadav.

During his Yadav was scheduled to inaugurate the Alopi Bagh flyover connecting areas including Bairahna, Madhavapur and Daragunj to the old city. From here he was scheduled to visit the Kumbh Mela area to take stock of preparations.

A steady stream of visitors and locals had gathered to catch a glimpse of the young CM who was visiting the city for the first time after assuming charge. But as news of the cancellation of his visit spread, the dejected crowd returned to their respective places and traffic was opened on routes which had earlier been closed in the wake of the VIP visit.

Police personnel who had lined up along the entire route since morning as part of massive security arrangements looked relaxed after receiving the information.

Police Lines ground where the helicopter carrying the state chief minister was scheduled to land was converted into a virtual fortress with rows of police vehicles of administrative and police personnel parked in the vicinity. Police and PAC personnel had cordoned off the entire area and put up barricades on routes on which the entourage was scheduled to pass.

Traffic cops posted at various crossings manned the traffic even as police patrol cars parked nearby monitored the movement of commuters and public.

For the local Samajwadi Party leadership it was a moment they had been waiting eagerly for but the weather deprived them of the opportunity, said president of the party's city unit Pappu Lal Nishad.

Party leaders had made a beeline to Police Lines since morning to welcome their leader whom they had expected would make some big announcement for the city and its people, said youth leader Abhishek Yadav.

Apart from official engagements, Akhilesh Yadav was also scheduled to visit the house of state advocate general, S P Gupta and attend the marriage function at the residence of a high court judge before returning in the afternoon.

Since morning on Saturday a thick blanket of fog had covered the whole city due to which the helicopter which was earlier scheduled to land at Police Lines ground at 8.45 am reached there at around noon but had to return without landing due to poor weather.

Up in arms against the Kumbh Mela authorities for failing to expedite the process of allotting land to various akharas and mahamandaleshwars, the saint community on Saturday tried to march up to the spot near Alopi Bagh flyover where the chief minister was scheduled to take part in the inaugural ceremony.

They were refrained from going there by the heavy posse of police personnel stationed at the site after which they sat on a dharna at Triveni Bundh area. They shouted slogans against the mela authorities and demanded intervention of the state government in resolving the issue.

They left the spot after sometime on receiving information about the cancellation of the CM"s visit.

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