Wheels of President Droupadi Murmu’s chopper sink into helipad in Kerala

The wheels of President Droupadi Murmus helicopter were stuck in a depression on a newly concreted helipad at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Pramadam Kerala on Wednesday morning news agency PTI reported The incident occurred when the Presidentrsquos helicopter landed for her Sabarimala visitWATCH Kerala A portion of the helipad tarmac sank in after a chopper carrying President Droupdi Murmu landed at Pramadam Stadium Police and fire department personnel deployed at the spot physically pushed the helicopter out of the sunken spot pictwittercomQDmf28PqIbmdash ANI ANI October 22 2025Once the President left for Pamba by road TV visuals showed police and fire force personnel working to push the helicopters wheels out of the depressions that formed as a result of the landingA senior police officer from the district explained that the stadium was chosen as the landing site at the last minute Consequently the helipad was constructed late on Tuesday PTI reported The original plan was for the helicopter to land at Nilackal near Pamba but inclement weather led to the change in locationThe concrete had not fully set and it couldnrsquot bear the weight of the helicopter which caused the depressions when the wheels touched down the officer saidPresident Murmu first woman head of state to visit SabarimalaPresident Murmu who arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday evening for her fourday official visit to Kerala left for Pathanamthitta district where the Sabarimala Temple is located on Wednesday morning She continued her journey to Pamba the foothills of Sabarimala by road PTI reportedWATCH President Droupadi Murmu offers prayers at Sabarimala Temple in KeralaSource PRD Kerala pictwittercomHnX0ITjYFAmdash ANI ANI October 22 2025Later she offered prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala on Wednesday becoming the first woman head of state to visit the revered shrine She is also only the second president to visit Sabarimala following former President VV Giris visit in the 1970sMurmu arrived in Pamba around 11 am in a special convoy Upon reaching the Pampa river she washed her feet before offering prayers at nearby temples including the Lord Ganapathy shrine There the templersquos head priest Vishnu Namboothiri assisted her in preparing her sacred bundle or lsquoirumudikkettursquo at the Kettunira MandapamAccompanied by her two officials and soninlaw Ganesh Chandra Hombram the President dressed in a black saree received her sacred bundle and participated in the traditional rituals The group then threw coconuts at a stone wall near the temple and proceeded to board special vehicles to ascend the 45km Swami Ayyappan Road to the Sannidhanam the main temple precinctAt the Sannidhanam President Murmu climbed the 18 holy steps to reach the shrine She was greeted by state Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan Travancore Devaswom Board TDB chief PS Prasanth and temple Tantri Kandararu Mahesh MohanaruAt the shrine the President took the lsquodarshanrsquo of Lord Ayyappa with the sacred bundle on her head Following the darshan she and her team placed their irumudikkettu on the steps of the shrine and the head priest took them for poojaAfter completing her visit to Sabarimala the President also visited adjacent temples including Malikappuram before returning to the TDB guesthouse for lunch and rest During the Presidents visit there were restrictions on devotees performing darshan as per TDB officialsMurmu had arrived at Pamba by road from the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Pramadam at 840 am where she was greeted by local leaders including Vasavan and Pathanamthitta lawmaker Anto AntonyLater in the day the President will return to Thiruvananthapuram and on Thursday unveil a bust of former President KR Narayanan at Raj Bhavan She will also inaugurate the Mahasamadhi Centenary celebrations of Sree Narayana Guru at Sivagiri Mutt in Varkala and attend the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of St Thomas College in Palai KottayamPresident Murmu will conclude her Kerala visit on Friday by attending the centenary celebrations of St Teresas College in ErnakulamWith PTI and ANI inputs