Kanna and family to return on Tuesday

HYDERABAD: Housing minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, Bheemunipatnam MLA ‘Avanti’ Srinivasa Rao and their family members, who went on a pilgrimage to Kailash Manasa Sarovar and got stranded on way back at Hilsa near the Tibet border, were rescued by the defence personnel on Monday.They were airlifted to Simikot and are likely to reach Hyderabad on Tuesday.After spending anxious moments in the dark and chilly weather for more than 24 hours on the Tibet-Nepal border, the minister and the legislator, along with their family members, were airlifted by two defence helicopters on Monday afternoon.Though Army authorities had made attempts to reach Hilsa in the early morning itself, they could not fly the choppers due to inclement weather. In the afternoon, the helicopters were rushed to Hilsa to rescue Lakshminarayana and 13 others and transport them to Simikot where they spent the Monday night.The state government was in contact with the Centre and minister of state for defence MM Pallam Raju who asked the Army authorities to make the required arrangements for the minister and his family members.Defence officials arranged for food, accommodation, medical facilities and security to the minister and other members of the group.They are likely to reach Hyderabad on Tuesday."The minister and his entourage are safe and there is nothing to worry about. We made attempts to arrange for their transportation and the defence authorities even arranged a fixed winged aircraft to shift Lakshminarayana and others to New Delhi via Kathmandu. But the defence officials informed us that they cannot fly due to bad weather at Simikot. We are hopeful that the minister will return to Hyderabad tomorrow,” said a senior official in the Chief Minister’s Office on Monday.Throughout the day, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy kept enquiring about the rescue operations. He asked chief secretary SV Prasad, who got in touch with the Army officials, to monitor the rescue operations and ensure that the minister and other members reached Hyderabad safely.