No trace of Arunachal chief minister Khandu
2 MAY, 2011, 12.56AM IST, BIKASH SINGH,ET BUREAU
GUWAHATI: The helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu could not be traced on Sunday, the second day after it went missing. Bad weather forced the Indian Air Force to suspend search later in the day.
However, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, V Narayanasamy, who is camping in Arunachal Pradesh, said in a late night communiquA© that a radio signal was detected and it was being ascertained whether the signal was from the missing chopper carrying Dorjee.
The state government statement on the incident said that Bhutanese authorities have given permission for carrying out air sorties for search and rescue operations in its territory. The statement added that a team of the National Disaster Response Force comprising 38 personnel had proceeded to Bomdila to assist local police in the search operations. The team has the latest search and rescue equipment. Earlier in the day, Indian and Bhutanese soldiers fanned out in the hilly terrain to trace the chopper that went missing on Saturday morning. A crisis management team is supervising the operations and the Prime Minister's Office is monitoring the overall scene.
However, confusion remained on whether Dorjee's helicopter landed in Bhutan on Saturday, as claimed by Governor JJ Singh. Intelligence agencies were looking into a satellite phone call that was received by an unnamed Congress MLA close to Khandu, based on which the Governor made the claim. The MLA told the chief secretary and the principal secretary to the chief minister that 'he believed' it was Khandu who called him. The caller apparently said 'he was taking off' presumably from somewhere in Bhutan.
Around 2,400 personnel from Tawang and Tenga Army camps were engaged in ground search operations, besides six teams of 25 personnel each of Indo-Tibetan Border Police . All senior ministers of the state government, along with Union ministers Mukul Wasnik Minister and V Narayanasamy reviewed the situation. Both Central ministers who reached Itanagar on Sunday were engaged in marathon meetings. The Indian Space Research Organisation could not carry out a planned satellite mapping due to thickness of the cloud. ISRO will make another attempt on Monday. According to a source in the Arunachal government , talks on selecting the probable caretaker chief minister has begun. State Home Minister Toko Dabi , however, told ET: "At present, our whole focus is on rescue operations and we believe that the chief minister will come back safely."
The Pawan Hans helicopter with five people on board that took off at 9.56 am on Saturday from Tawang helipad went missing around 10.30 am. The chopper was scheduled to land at Itanagar at 11.30 am. Just 20 minutes after taking off from Tawang, all communication was lost.
However, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, V Narayanasamy, who is camping in Arunachal Pradesh, said in a late night communiquA© that a radio signal was detected and it was being ascertained whether the signal was from the missing chopper carrying Dorjee.
The state government statement on the incident said that Bhutanese authorities have given permission for carrying out air sorties for search and rescue operations in its territory. The statement added that a team of the National Disaster Response Force comprising 38 personnel had proceeded to Bomdila to assist local police in the search operations. The team has the latest search and rescue equipment. Earlier in the day, Indian and Bhutanese soldiers fanned out in the hilly terrain to trace the chopper that went missing on Saturday morning. A crisis management team is supervising the operations and the Prime Minister's Office is monitoring the overall scene.
However, confusion remained on whether Dorjee's helicopter landed in Bhutan on Saturday, as claimed by Governor JJ Singh. Intelligence agencies were looking into a satellite phone call that was received by an unnamed Congress MLA close to Khandu, based on which the Governor made the claim. The MLA told the chief secretary and the principal secretary to the chief minister that 'he believed' it was Khandu who called him. The caller apparently said 'he was taking off' presumably from somewhere in Bhutan.
Around 2,400 personnel from Tawang and Tenga Army camps were engaged in ground search operations, besides six teams of 25 personnel each of Indo-Tibetan Border Police . All senior ministers of the state government, along with Union ministers Mukul Wasnik Minister and V Narayanasamy reviewed the situation. Both Central ministers who reached Itanagar on Sunday were engaged in marathon meetings. The Indian Space Research Organisation could not carry out a planned satellite mapping due to thickness of the cloud. ISRO will make another attempt on Monday. According to a source in the Arunachal government , talks on selecting the probable caretaker chief minister has begun. State Home Minister Toko Dabi , however, told ET: "At present, our whole focus is on rescue operations and we believe that the chief minister will come back safely."
The Pawan Hans helicopter with five people on board that took off at 9.56 am on Saturday from Tawang helipad went missing around 10.30 am. The chopper was scheduled to land at Itanagar at 11.30 am. Just 20 minutes after taking off from Tawang, all communication was lost.
(source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com)
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Tawang monastery prays for Khandu
Samudra Gupta KashyapPosted: Mon May 02 2011, 02:04 hrsGuwahati:============================================================
Even as the Pawan Hans helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu was reported missing on Saturday afternoon, the Buddhist monastery at Tawang, close to the China border, has started offering special prayers for his safe return.
“We have organised a series of special prayers for the safe return of the Chief Minister since Saturday. While one batch of senior lamas sat on a prayer from 6 to 11 pm on Saturday, three rounds of special prayers were held on Sunday with over 100 lamas taking part in them,” Lonsang Thapke, the secretary of the Gaden Namgyal Lhatse — as the 400-year old monastery is officially called — said over telephone.
“We are going to keep praying till the safe return of the Chief Minister. We strongly believe he will come back safe,” Thakpe said, echoing the sentiments of the 400-odd lamas associated with the monastery. Special prayers are also on in Ani Gompa, the all-women’s monastery on the western outskirts of Tawang, which houses over 200 women lamas.
Khandu (56) is a member of the Monpa tribe, which belongs to the Gelukpa sect of Mahayana Buddhism, and has been closely associated with the Tawang monastery.
“It was because of him that the monastery has been able to get a lot of monetary grants and other help from the state government. We got a new museum building two years ago because of him. The CM was also instrumental in the establishment of a new library in the Centre for Buddhist Cultural Studies here,” Thakpe said.
It was Khandu who impressed upon the Dalai Lama to pay a week-long visit to Tawang and other parts of the state in November 2009. Last year, Khandu had provided special funds for carrying out protection measures after a severe landslide threatened to pull down one portion of the monastery.
Air mishaps in Arunachal
November 15, 1997
Union Minister of State for Defence N V N Somu, Maj Gen Ramesh Nagpal and two Majors killed when IAF Cheetah hit a 1,300-feet peak, 40 km south of Tawang
May 9, 2001
Arunachal Pradesh Education Minister Dera Natung and six others killed in a Pawan Hans helicopter crash over Sessa in West Kameng district
June 9, 2009
14 persons, all Defence personnel, including a Major, killed when an IAF AN-32 aircraft crashed at Mechuka in West Siang district
November 19, 2010
Twelve persons, including one Lt Colonel, and 11 IAF personnel killed when a Mi-17 crashed immediately after take-off from Tawang
April 19, 2011
17 persons, including 16 civilians and one Lt Colonel, were killed when a Mi-172 helicopter of Pawan Hans crashed while landing at Tawang
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