Fadnavis-Shinde duel on, as 500 of over 2K tourists return; another lot to fly back today

As the number of people from Maharashtra stranded in Jammu and Kashmir has risen to over 2000, by Thursday evening, around 500 tourists returned home, confirmed the chief minister’s office (CMO). Another lot will be brought back home on special flights organised by the state government on Friday.

Pune-based Kailash Thorat, 74, who flew back on one of the of the special flights, said because of the landslide on Sunday followed by the terror attack on Tuesday, many like him had been stuck in the Valley. “We looked at all options to return – there were no train tickets available and flight tickets had soared to over ₹45,000 per person. We could not afford any of that and had to stay put. The special flights came as a ray of hope,” he said upon landing in Mumbai on Thursday at 6:30pm.

On the other hand, even as focussed ferrying back of Maharashtra tourists from the Valley is on, the game of one-upmanship between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy, Eknath Shinde, sustains. While the state government brought back 184 passengers on two special flights, Shiv Sena arranged two chartered flights to bring back 249 passengers; some others returned on their own.

Shinde reportedly managed to organise the special flights even as the state government was drawing up plans to bring back the tourists, soon after the terror attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday. Fadnavis had deputed minister for disaster management Girish Mahajan to Srinagar to look after the arrangements on Wednesday and the same day, Shinde landed in the J&K capital to help tourists on behalf of the party. On Thursday, Mahajan apprised Fadnavis about the injured who are being treated in various hospitals in Kashmir, and arranged for Fadnavis to interact with them through video calls.

“The government has activated a 3-level mechanism to bring back the stranded tourists and every request coming from across the state is being considered. Apart from CMO, the disaster management cell and Maharashtra Information Centre (MIC) in Delhi are working in coordination. Some of the passengers returned to Delhi, where the government has arranged accommodation for them. The tourists from Amravati and Akola will be flown back on Friday,” a statement issued by the CMO has stated.

Both the disaster management cell in Mantralaya and MIC in Delhi have received requests from over 2000 tourists in the Valley. “Most of them have been booked on return flights for the next two-three days. The government is also trying to organise a special train to bring some of them back, as there is unrest among the tourists,” said an official from CMO.

While parallel efforts by two parties in the ruling Mahayuti have raised eyebrows in the corridors of power, the Shiv Sena office released a statement saying, “This is part of a coordinated evacuation effort launched by Shiv Sena, under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, to ensure safe and dignified return of every citizen.”

Meanwhile, Sena’s zeal to make a mark was dented on Thursday by its MP Naresh Mhaske, who attempted to back his party chief’s on-ground efforts. ”There was a group of 45 tourists stranded in Kashmir, who stayed in a CRPF camp. Shinde made arrangements to fly them back. They had travelled to the Valley by train and now are returning by flight.”

His comment drew flak from the Opposition.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut called it a “cruel mockery on the tourists from the state who are stranded” while Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said Mhaske’s comment projected a “height of insensitivity”.