Kaljharani (Bathinda), July 23
The once temporary helipad at Kaljharani village has now taken a permanent shape with the construction of an air-conditioned waiting room and round-the-clock surveillance by the cops.
Kaljharani is about 32 km from the Bathinda district headquarters on the Badal road, touching Muktsar district.
Whenever Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal or his son SAD chief Sukhbir Badal land here to visit their house in Badal village, all senior officials of the Bathinda and Muktsar districts mark their presence at the helipad, burning hundreds of litres of fuel.
Witnessing the frequent landings of the choppers hired by the Badals at the Kaljharani helipad, the district administration has set up an air-conditioned waiting room. Earlier, in its absence, the CM and the bureaucrats in attendance had to wait in their cars, before the civil aviation gave the clearance for landing or take off.
The room has recently been constructed by the PWD at an expense estimated to be in lakhs. The room is equipped with adequate number of chairs for holding brief meetings. During lean days, the air-conditioned room is ‘well utilised’ by the security personnel manning the helipad.
Sensing the threat perception to the CM who has Z plus security, the district police have put five policemen on permanent guard, to man the helipad.
Showing the attendance register, head constable Ranjeet Singh, who has been deputed as in-charge of the ‘helipad guard’ there, said, “We are five and by rotation, we keep vigil at the helipad for four hours, armed with gun. We are bound to keep vigil at the helipad as in case of any untoward happening, we would be the first to be penalised.”
An official of the district administration, seeking anonymity, said, “Earlier, the Badals used to land at the Badal village, where only the Muktsar administration officials used to be present but for reasons better known to them, they have moved to Kaljharani and put the government machinery of the two districts on the move.”
The once temporary helipad at Kaljharani village has now taken a permanent shape with the construction of an air-conditioned waiting room and round-the-clock surveillance by the cops.
Kaljharani is about 32 km from the Bathinda district headquarters on the Badal road, touching Muktsar district.
Whenever Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal or his son SAD chief Sukhbir Badal land here to visit their house in Badal village, all senior officials of the Bathinda and Muktsar districts mark their presence at the helipad, burning hundreds of litres of fuel.
Witnessing the frequent landings of the choppers hired by the Badals at the Kaljharani helipad, the district administration has set up an air-conditioned waiting room. Earlier, in its absence, the CM and the bureaucrats in attendance had to wait in their cars, before the civil aviation gave the clearance for landing or take off.
The room has recently been constructed by the PWD at an expense estimated to be in lakhs. The room is equipped with adequate number of chairs for holding brief meetings. During lean days, the air-conditioned room is ‘well utilised’ by the security personnel manning the helipad.
Sensing the threat perception to the CM who has Z plus security, the district police have put five policemen on permanent guard, to man the helipad.
Showing the attendance register, head constable Ranjeet Singh, who has been deputed as in-charge of the ‘helipad guard’ there, said, “We are five and by rotation, we keep vigil at the helipad for four hours, armed with gun. We are bound to keep vigil at the helipad as in case of any untoward happening, we would be the first to be penalised.”
An official of the district administration, seeking anonymity, said, “Earlier, the Badals used to land at the Badal village, where only the Muktsar administration officials used to be present but for reasons better known to them, they have moved to Kaljharani and put the government machinery of the two districts on the move.”
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