Suvendu Adhikari will be one of the main campaigners of the BJP in the Bengal Assembly elections and to ensure his smooth journey across the state, a helipad is being constructed for the former transport minister in East Midnapore’s Nandigram.
The BJP has fielded Adhikari in Nandigram where chief minister Mamata Banerjee is the Trinamul Congress’s candidate.
Under the watchful eyes of local BJP leaders, a group of labourers is working 24X7 on a four-acre land in Nandigram’s Haripur village to build the helipad from where Adhikari will take off frequently to campaign against Trinamul across Bengal.
“We are constructing a temporary helipad. Ten farmers have allowed us to use their land for free even though we wanted to pay them,” said a BJP leader.
The BJP said Adhikari would have to attend multiple meetings and the helipad was being set up mainly for “ease of movement” and to avoid traffic snarls.
To ensure a smooth ride for Adhikari to the helipad, contractors have been busy laying bricks over the last few days on a 200m road that veers off the Chandipur highway to reach Haripur.
Another set of workers are preparing concrete mix that would form the periphery of the circle on which the helicopter will land.
Asked what necessitated the construction of the helipad, a local BJP leader said: “This poll is of immense importance to the party as well as Adhikari. We don’t want to depend on the administration to get a helipad for his chopper to land. The chief minister will use the Nandigram College Grounds for her chopper to land and take off. As we want to avoid any administrative interference, we are constructing our own helipad.”
One of the landowners who parted with plots for the helipad said his cooperation stemmed from his “unconditional” allegiance to Adhikari.
“I was with him during his association with Trinamul and am with him now even though he has switched sides. All I wanted was that the land be returned to me, which BJP leaders have agreed to. I do not want compensation for helping Suvenduda,” said Nantu Pal, 52.
A BJP leader overseeing the work said: “The helipad will have a 100ft radius where bricks would be laid out. On the periphery, concrete mix and bricks are being used. In the middle of the helipad, a piling of broken bricks and mortar is being used. After the end of the polls, the entire structure of the helipad will be demolished and the four-acre farmland returned to the farmers in its original shape. The entire project will cost Rs 40-50 lakh.”
The BJP leader added that after the Election Commission had declared that Nandigram would vote on April 1, the party decided to drop the plan to use concrete in the middle of the helipad. “Therefore, we opted for bricks on the advice of engineers.”
Vice-president of the BJP’s Tamluk organisation committee, Pralay Pal, said the poll campaign in Nandigram would pick-up next week and the helipad would be ready by then.
Asked whether permission to operate the helipad had been taken from relevant authorities, Pal said: “We will start applying with the authorities concerned very soon. The nod from the director general of civil aviation is taken care of by the company from which the party is hiring the helicopter for Adhikari’s travel.”
Haldia subdivisional officer Avneet Punia, under whose jurisdiction the helipad falls, has said: “The permission for helicopter landing will have to be sought from the district election officer.”
An official of East Midnapore district administration said the permission would be granted only after verifying whether the helipad had adequate infrastructure for choppers to operate.
Apart from the helipad, BJP leaders are scouting for a house in Nandigram where Adhikari will stay during the election campaign.
“We have short-listed a few accommodations for Adhikari to choose from for his stay in Nandigram. He would be staying in Nandigram for at least a month during the polls,” said BJP leader and former Trinamul block president Meghnad Pal.
