Poor weather compelled a Kingfisher Airlines aircraft with chief minister Mr N Kiran Kumar Reddy on board to hover for over 45 minutes before it landed safely at Madhurapudi airport in Rajahmundry, giving some anxious moments to the state administration.

The Air Traffic Control at Madhurapudi airport did not give ground clearance to aircraft from Hyderabad to land at the scheduled time 10.30 a.m. as there was "no clear visibility". This forced the ATR aircraft to hover in the skies for about 45 minutes before the ATC finally gave the clearance for landing. The flight finally touched ground at 11.15 a.m. "Yes, there was some anxiety as the flight hovered in the air for a while," Mr Kiran Kumar remarked on checking into the VIP lounge at the airport, official sources said.

Later the CM took the aerial route in the state helicopter from Rajahmundry to Poolla in West Godavari district where he was scheduled to launch 'Stree Nidhi', a state-level co-operative credit society for financing women self-help groups.

Aimed at preparing the congress party to face the 2014 assembly elections with better strength and curtailing the popularity of the YSR Congress president Mr YS Jaganmohan Reddy, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy unleashed a slew of welfare measures for women and the downtrodden.