Forced penance for Kanna and family at Kailash

HYDERABAD/GUNTUR: What was supposed to have been a pilgrimage turned out to be nightmare for Housing Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, his family members and Bheemunipatnam MLA Avanti Srinivasa Rao.They had been to the Kailash Manasa Sarovar in Tibet but were stranded on their return journey at Hilsa in China near the Indian border on Sunday. With no chopper in sight even after nightfall, the group had to spend the night in the freezing weather.“There is nothing here except one or two small houses. There is no food. We have nowhere to go. We do not know how we are going to spend the night. It is already very cold now,” Srinivasa Rao said over phone from Hilsa. The 14-member group, comprising the minister, his sons former mayor Nagaraju and Phanidra and their family members, had left for Kailash on June 14.This morning, after visiting Manasa Sarovar, they reached Hilsa at 6.30 a.m.from where the Southern Travels, which organised the trip, was to fly them back but it could not.Three women in the group were experiencing breathlessness because of the high altitude, sources said. The minister managed to contact Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, chief secretary SV Prasad and Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy and urged them to provide them a chopper.A few batches of travellers were flown out but the helicopter set to fly the minister’s group did not turn up. Sources said the chopper had developed a technical snag.The Southern Travels, meanwhile, said there was no need to worry and claimed that it was indeed making arrangements for air-lifting the group to Kathmandu on Monday morning. “After 5.30 p.m, permission will not be given by Nepal authorities for flying a helicopter.The weather is inclement so we did not send any helicopter.We have already provided accommodation for the minister and other tourists.Tomorrow at 6.30 am, we will send a helicopter to bring them back,” Southern Travels Managing Director Krishna Mohan told Express.Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju spoke to the army authorities and tents and generators were rushed to Hilsa from a nearby army post.After Kanna Lakshminarayana contacted the chief minister, there was a flurry of activity in the state government.Chief secretary SV Prasad was busy speaking to officials at the Centre.Eluru MP Kavuri Sambasiva Rao spoke to Defence Minister AK Antony. “I spoke to the army station at Ladakh, which is close to Hilsa and they promised to help the stranded minister and his family members to the extent possible,” he said.