Modi held up at Dehradun airport due to bad weather

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to address a rally in Rudrapur, was held up at the Jolly Grant Airport here for about four hours as his helicopter could not take off due to inclement weather on Thursday, a senior police officer said. The prime minister, who landed at the airport here around 7 AM, began his onward journey around 11.15 AM when the weather improved, a senior police officer told PTI, requesting anonymity.

It has been raining here since early morning. Modi waited at the airport guesthouse, the officer said.

He left in a Mi-17 helicopter for the Corbett Tiger Reserve where he will spend some time before moving to Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district to address a rally and launch the State Integrated Co-operative Development Project. He will also distribute loan cheques among the beneficiaries of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Farmers Welfare Scheme of the state government.

The Integrated Co-operative Development Project aims to drastically improve the rural economy in Uttarakhand by giving a boost to co-operative, farm and allied sectors and check forced migration from the hills.