Shravanabelagola: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Shravanabelagola on February 19 to take part in the Mahamastakabhisheka, the timing of his visit is not conducive enough for him to have the full view of the event. Since the visit has been restricted to just 45 minutes on that day, he will have enough time only to attend a public meeting where he is expected to speak only for 12 minutes. Meanwhile, there was a rumour that the PM would climb the hill to have a darshan of Bahubali, but since it would take not less than 2 hours, even that possibility has been ruled out.
The only way he will have to pay his tributes is through an aerial darshan and showering flowers from a helicopter. But will it be allowed as the Vindyagiri hillock is a no fly zone area? When asked, Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri said that this was unlikely to happen and there were no such plans so far.
It was former prime minister Late Indira Gandhi who had showered flowers from a helicopter here, last in 1981, during the 1000th year of consecration of Bahubali statue. But since then the Archaeological Survey of India has tightened the rules and the Vindyagiri hillock is a no-fly zone for 200 meters around the base of the hill. According to the officials concerned there has been no such request from the PMO.
