Chopper amazes tribals

Jodeghat (Adilabad):The sight of a helicopter, probably, for the first time, amazed the tribals of interior Jodeghat in Adilabad district on Tuesday. Ahead of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s visit to the village on Wednesday, a helicopter flew in from Hyderabad which made several rounds in the air before landing at the tribal hamlet and it cheered the Adivasis of Jodeghat and surrounding places.

The chief minister will visit Jodeghat to pay tributes to Adivasi legendary Komaram Bheem on the occasion of his 74th death anniversary on Wednesday.“It is for the first time that I have seen a helicopter so close. I could not see the landing and take off properly as a lot of dust rose at that time,” said Pendore Bheem Bai, 52, of Jodeghat. On learning that a helicopter would fly to their hamlet, a large number of villagers of Jodeghat and its surrounding hamlets thronged the place to see the aircraft, many of them, for the first time.

Children, who have been enjoying their Dasara holidays, also displayed enthusiasm to watch the helicopter.

They climpted atop buildings and trees to have a clear view. “I saw a helicopter hovering in the air during general elections but it did not land near our village. Now, the helicopter did land and so I could see it clearly,” said Pendore Keshorao of Jodeghat village.The tribals feared to go near the chopper singly but in groups, they went near the aircraft to have a close look.

Some tribals viewed the landing of the chopper as a sign of changing times and development. But they could not clearly point out the type of progress they wanted to witness. Minister for forest and environment Jogu Ramanna and district MLAs also inspected the arrangements at Jodeghat on Tuesday. The minister also inspected the helipad.

Speaking to mediapersons at Jodeghat, Jogu Ramanna said the state government was committed to the development and welfare of the Adivasis unlike previous governments headed by Seemandhra rulers.

The previous governments deliberately neglected observing Komaram Bheem’s death anniversary, he said. The TRS government is committed to protecting the rights of tribals, he added.