AAP leaders fly high on Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann's ‘relief’ copter

When Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann handed over his official helicopter to the Gurdaspur administration for the distribution of food and water bottles among flood-hit people, little did he know that ruling AAP leaders would start using it to “further their political ambitions”.

Dera Baba Nanak MLA Gurdeep Singh Randhawa and Dinanagar AAP halqa in-charge Shamsher Singh have been taking sorties, distributing relief material in the affected areas. A photographer is always on board with them.

According to officials, evacuation and dropping of food packets is a highly technical operation, which involves Army choppers.

Army choppers drop ration packets while hovering above even as a crew member manually pushes the packages out of an open door. The crew member times the release of the ration packets so that they land at the precise location. However, the critics allege that all packets dropped by Shamsher Singh have “landed in the floodwaters”.

An opposition leader alleged that the CM’s intention appeared noble, but his own leaders were using the helicopter for publicity.

“The exercise has been reduced to a charade of sorts. The main objective of the leaders is to get photographed. It is better if the CM recalls his chopper,” said the leader. The helicopter is yet to make a sortie above any of the seven ‘Us-Paar’ villages. Villagers here are spending their days on rooftops, sans food, drinking water and medicines. Interestingly, an AAP insider said, “There’s no need to send chopper to the area as it doesn’t have many voters.”