Mysuru: Did the helicopter company which charters helicopters to VIPs and VVIPs in the State, charter a brand new helicopter for Chief Minster Siddharamaiah to fly him yesterday to Mysuru?

The rumours doing the rounds are, since an eagle had hit the helicopter in which the CM was flying recently and he had escaped from danger nothing was done about it. A few days later another helicopter had dropped Siddharamaiah at the Mysuru helipad and then while carrying Ministers D.K. Shivakumar and M.B. Patil had to do an emergency landing because of adverse weather conditions.

With two incidents in succession, the team in charge of the helicopter, it is said, decided to hire a brand new modern multi-coloured helicopter with all safety measures incorporated. When the CM landed yesterday in this helicopter, it caught everyone’s attention.

But, is it a new helicopter? When Star of Mysore spoke to one of the persons of the company from which the helicopters are hired for the CM and other VIPs, he said on condition of anonymity that all these were mere media speculations. “We have three models — Bel 429, Augusta 109 both 2013-14 make– and the recent one in which the CM flew — EC 135, 2014 model, a French make. All the helicopters are fitted with all safety features and we have had no problems so far.”

These are multi-engine helicopters and meet all the criteria for carrying CM and other VIPs. The problems arise only if they are 15 to 20 year old machines. We do not have them, as our main concern is the safety of the people whom we carry, he said.

Meanwhile, a top ranking official in the Telengana Government whom Star of Mysore happened to speak to this morning said: “The VIP safety is of paramount importance. In States like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana there are dedicated teams handling helicopter travel by VVIPs. We check the credibility of the crew and their credentials. Unfortunately, from what I have seen this is not there in Karnataka and as a result there  is confusion.”

As long as Siddharamaiah, a proclaimed atheist and rationalist continues to visit temples and offers prayers, contrary to his belief, the media and the people will have a field day watching every step of his and rumours start flying when a crow lands on the rear view mirror of his official car and another crow’s droppings land on his spotless white kurta and the eagle hits the helicopter, he is flying.