At least 42 people were injured when a dome-shaped pandal erected for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public rally in Raipur on Saturday, collapsed due to heavy winds on Friday.
Following an emergency cabinet meeting after the incident, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh announced,
“The Prime Minister’s programme in Raipur stands cancelled due to this accident, but there is no change in his Dantewada programme. I have ordered an inquiry into the accident.”
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Mr Modi was to address a big public rally in Raipur on Saturday and inaugurate the buildings of Tripal IT and new police headquarters.
State PWD minister Rajesh Munat, who was present at the spot when the pandal collapsed, is reportedly unhurt. The injured, most of them policemen, have been rushed to different hospitals in Raipur.
The Prime Minister will now be travelling directly to Dantewada on Saturday for the inauguration of two projects.
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Heavy security
An intense security cover has been put in place across Dantewada for the Prime Minister’s event on Saturday. The venue of Mr Modi’s rally will have a 17-layer security cover, an officer based in Bastar said.
Combing and area domination exercises are being taken up in all parts of Bastar during Mr Modi’s first visit to the Maoist insurgency hit area after taking over as the Prime Minister.
The Communist Party of India (Maoist), which has called for a boycott of the Prime Minister’s Chhattisgarh visit, blocked roads in different parts of Bastar and put up banners against the visit.
The Dornapal-Jagargunda road in Sukma district was blocked by Maoists who also felled trees and put up black flags in Kanker district.