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On visit to remote polling stations in Uttarakhand, helicopter with Chief Election Commissioner makes emergency landing

CEC Rajiv Kumar and two EC officers accompanying him had to spend the night in a village in Uttarakhand and were rescued Thursday morning.

rajiv kumar, helicopter emergency landing, indian expressA helicopter with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on board makes an emergency landing, at Munsyari, in Pithoragarh district, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. The chopper was on its way to Milam Glacier but had to land in Ralam village due to cloudy weather and low visibility. (PTI Photo)
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While on a scheduled visit to remote polling stations in Uttarakhand on Wednesday, a helicopter carrying Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and two Election Commission officials was forced to make an emergency landing near Ralam village due to bad weather, EC sources said on Thursday.

After spending the night in an empty house in Ralam, Kumar, the EC officers and two pilots were rescued early Thursday morning, an EC source said. Kumar was scheduled to visit polling stations in 14 villages in Pithoragarh to get insight into the challenges faced by polling parties and voters in the high-altitude, remote areas.

The helicopter was able to take off after the weather stabilised and the EC team reached Munsyari Tehsil headquarters on Thursday morning, the source said. The team was still in Munsyari and may continue with the scheduled visits, it is learnt.

At an EC event in Delhi last week, Kumar told officials he would like to spend time with the polling and security personnel posted in remote areas for election duty. He said he would like to stay in the tents with them.

This isn’t the first time that Kumar has gone to visit remote polling stations. Soon after assuming office in 2022, the CEC trekked to one of the remote polling stations in Dumak village of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district to experience the difficulties faced by polling parties.

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