Kolkata, Dec 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s helicopter was unable to land at the Taherpur helipad in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Saturday due to low visibility caused by dense fog, forcing the aircraft to return to Kolkata airport, officials said.
The helicopter reportedly hovered over the helipad for some time before making a U-turn as visibility conditions failed to improve. The Prime Minister was awaiting further updates on the weather situation at the Kolkata airport at the time of filing this report.
Officials said it was not immediately clear whether Modi would travel to Taherpur by road or make another attempt to reach the venue by air if weather conditions improved.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister arrived in Kolkata around 10.40 am and boarded a helicopter for Taherpur, where he is scheduled to attend an administrative programme to inaugurate highway projects in the state. He is also slated to address a BJP rally titled ‘Parivartan Sankalpa Sabha’.
Weather related disruptions due to dense fog have affected air and road traffic across parts of eastern India in recent days, officials added.