THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, August 18: Chiyanki air strip is being spruced up for August 21 Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s visit here.
The CM is to digitally transfer (direct benefit transfer) Rs 1000 to the girls and women selected under the Jharkhand Mukhmantri Maiyyan Samman Yojna.
Administrative sources said as it is going to be a divisional programme, it has to be magnificent and massive both. Here will be converging Mukhyamantri Maiyyan Samman beneficiaries of 3 districts, Palamu, Garhwa and Latehar.
Sources said around 1 lakh of beneficiaries are estimated to be attending it on August 21.
The 3 districts, Palamu, Garhwa and Latehar combined approved list for this Maiyyan Samman Yojna is 4 lakh plus where Palamu’s share alone is above 2 lakhs.
Palamu DC and officials inspect Chiyanki air strip
It’s a huge task for the Palamu administration to organise this CM’s programme.
DC Shashi Ranjan, DDC Shabbir Ahmad, additional collector Kundan Kumar, SDPO Sadar Mani Bhushan Prasad and hosts of other officials inspected the Chiyanki air strip venue for the CM’s function on Saturday.
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Chiyanki- a host to PMs of India
The Chiyanki air strip has always been a host ground to Prime Ministers of India. Here had come Indira Gandhi.
P V Narasimha Rao too came here during the drought days of Palamu. It is a favourite ground for the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Cobra spotted during Sonia Gandhi’s visit
The Chiyanki air strip ground has its own challenges. First is the reptiles. It comes out without anyone noticing it except when a huge cobra was spotted here more than a decade ago during Sonia Gandhi’s visit here on this Chiyanki air strip ground.
It was a huge rainy day then. People were listening to the speech of Sonia Gandhi without bothering for the rains when someone in the crowd cried ‘snake, snake’.
Those having open umbrellas on their heads threw it in the air and rushed without knowing where the snake could be. Many just stepped on the others. It was a near stampede like situation.
Sonia Gandhi too noticed it and hurriedly finished her prepared text of the speech.
It was a 5 feet cobra and this snake was as nervous and frightened as that of the crowd. The snake took refuge in the nearby bush.
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Weather challenges and school buses
Weather matters much here on the Chiyanki air strip ground. If there is rain and lightning, safety is at risk here.
Again Chiyanki air strip is infamous for lightning, although there is no incident of death by lightning. It may be that there remains no humans on this strip when there are rains and lightning.
Chiyanki air strip is dangerous as when it has huge crowd of people it spills over the NH 75 passing barely meters away from it.
Further Chiyanki air strip is in the surrounding area of a fleet of schools and BEd colleges. More than 3 dozen buses roll on from these schools for its up and down ferrying of the students.
Such a VVIP programme at the Chiyanki air strip dislocates the timing of the school buses.
Palamu administration is quite wary of these issues of the Chiyanki air strip.
