Rahul Gandhi’s stay in Karnataka's Raichur was near the airstrip where Jawaharlal Nehru survived flight mishap
RAICHUR: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi stayed overnight in Raichur on Sunday. With his stay in the circuit house at Yermarus village on the outskirts of Raichur, the first prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s great-grandson unknowingly scripted history.
Rahul Gandhi stayed in the circuit house located right in front of the airstrip. In the early 1960s, this airstrip saved the life of Nehru, who was flying to Hyderabad from Chennai. As Nehru’s flight reached near Raichur, the pilot who spotted fire in the cockpit had no option but to land.
At Raichur, when the pilot looked down, he found an airstrip and decided to take the risk of landing, said Venkatesh Patil, son of freedom fighter Kashi Rao Patil, who was a witness to this event. The pilot crash-landed saving Nehru’s life. The pilot was awarded for saving the life of the PM,” Patil said.
After this incident, no one from the Gandhi family visited this place. Though former prime ministers Indira and Rajiv visited Raichur, they have not stayed at this guest house or visited this site.
Though there was a proposal to develop the site as an airport, it did not take off. Officials of the Airports Authority of India visited the place in 2008 and said that developing an airport was feasible.
But the state government and district administration don’t seem to be keen on taking up the project, said Trivikram Joshi, president, Raichur Chamber of Commerce and Industry.