BELAGAVI: As cops stood on their toes to thwart any bid by agitating farmers, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah used the aerial route to Gokak, taking everyone by surprise on Tuesday. He took a helicopter from Sambra airport to bless Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi’s newly-wed son Santhosh, leaving farmers clueless and fuming. The CM had skipped the lavish wedding on Monday, following public criticism from the public.
Earlier Siddaramaiah and his team directly flew to the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, avoiding any risk of getting inconvenienced by the angry farmers, who are on indefinite stir during the ongoing winter session.
Additional forces were deployed to clear the National Highway and roads leading to the Circuit House, where Siddaramaiah is camping with other senior ministers. Farmers were staging a rasta-roko protest to draw the attention of the CM towards their plight.
Siddaramaiah travelled by road to Sambra airport. While return from Gokak, he directly landed at the new helipad at SVS premises, avoiding any confrontation with agitators.
Sources said the inauguration of the helipad was pending for more than six months. According to authorities, inauguration was scheduled only after two more helipads are established. Landing of Siddaramaiah’s helicopter at SVS was a decision taken in the eleventh hour. Many people, including cops on duty were seen taking selfies with the red copter in front of themajestic Suvarna Soudha.
Meanwhile, the agitating farmers, after realising that the CM had outwitted them, launched the rasta-roko in front of Deputy Commissioner’s office. This resulted in heavy traffic jam.