‘Achha laga’: President Droupadi Murmu after maiden flight in fighter jet

GUWAHATI: President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday flew on her maiden sortie in a fighter aircraft from Tezpur airbase in Assam, before wrapping up her three-day tour of the northeastern state.
Group Captain Naveen Kumar Tiwari, the Commanding Officer of the 106th Squadron, flew her in a Sukhoi-30 MKI that took off from the Indian Air Force base.
Rashtrapati Bhavan said the President flew for approximately 30 minutes covering Brahmaputra and Tezpur valley with a view of the Himalayas before returning to the Air Force Station.
Murmu reached Tezpur from Guwahati. She was received at the airbase by Air Marshal S P Dharkar, governor Gulab Chand Kataria and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
After landing at Tezpur, Murmu received a guard of honour from IAF personnel, followed by an official briefing on the operational capabilities of the aircraft and the Indian Air Force (IAF) on her flight aboard the Sukhoi aircraft.
She then reached the hangar wearing the flying suit, and waved at the waiting journalists before climbing the ladder to board the aircraft.
The President also posed with her pilot and other officials in front of the aircraft.
After sitting in the cockpit, a woman officer helped her put on the helmet and complete other technicalities. She waved from the cockpit just seconds before the aircraft canopy was shut.
Alighting from the aircraft after the sortie, she again posed with the group captain and waved at the waiting journalists.
Though no media interaction was scheduled with the President, she said "achcha laga" (felt good) when a waiting journalist asked her how the sortie was.
"The aircraft flew at a height of about two kilometers above sea level and at a speed of about 800 kilometres per hour," the Rashtrapati Bhavan stated.
Murmu is the third president after APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil to fly a sortie in a fighter aircraft. Her predecessors, however, had taken their rides from the Pune airbase, the release added.
Later in the visitor's book, the President expressed her feelings by writing a brief note in which she said, "It was an exhilarating experience for me to fly in the mighty Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force. It is a matter of pride that India's defence capabilities have expanded immensely to cover all the frontiers of land, air and sea. I congratulate the Indian Air Force and the entire team of Air Force Station Tezpur for organising this sortie."
The sortie of Murmu, who is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, from the Tezpur base assumes significance as it is bordering Arunachal Pradesh which China claims to be a part of its territory. It is part of her efforts to engage with the armed forces. In March, the President had visited INS Vikrant and interacted with officers and sailors on board the indigenously built aircraft.
(With inputs from PTI)