Kolkata, Nov 25: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s planned helicopter ride to Bongaon for a political rally on Tuesday was cancelled after officials discovered that the aircraft assigned for the trip was operating with an expired licence, a top bureaucrat said.
Banerjee travelled to Bongaon in the North 24 Parganas district, around 104 km from Kolkata, by road instead.
The helicopter operator was issued a show-cause notice.
According to senior administration officials, the helicopter, unused by the chief minister for nearly six months, completed its mandatory trial flight on Monday.
“The licence expiry should have been flagged immediately. Allowing the trial flight without verifying documents is unacceptable. The lapse in the licence, however, was not reported during the check. The issue came to light early Tuesday,” the official said.
Sources said that the chief minister was visibly displeased.
“This kind of negligence cannot be tolerated, especially in matters involving VVIP movement. She (CM) has asked for a full explanation,” the official at the Chief Minister’s Office said.
An inquiry has been initiated to determine how the oversight occurred and why it was not communicated in advance.(PTI)
