VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh government on Friday issued a strong rebuttal to what it termed “misleading and fake campaign” being run by opposition YSRC over the helicopter being used for AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
An official press release issued on Friday clarified that the state government has not purchased a new helicopter for the AP CM. It has instead hired a different model of helicopter from another company.
“We are continuing to hire a helicopter just as in the past, to meet the travel needs of the Chief Minister. The same policy of payment-based rentals is being continued now. Only the company and model have been changed. State government has not purchased any helicopter,” the press note underlined.
The newly hired helicopter is said to be more advanced and safer than the older one, allowing direct travel from Amaravati to districts across the state, from Srikakulam in the north to Chittoor in the south. This, the officials said, would save both time and costs by cutting down the need for multiple connections that earlier required a combination of flights and helicopters to reach remote districts.
Previously, AP CMs often had to travel by plane from Gannavaram to Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kadapa or Kurnool, and then take a helicopter to reach distant constituencies. The new arrangement avoids such detours, reducing expenditure on aircraft, security convoys and eliminating traffic diversions and extended bandobust duties in urban areas, the press note added.
