Mumbai: Around 500 tourists from Maharashtra stranded in Kashmir after the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam so far have arrived in the state in the last two days in the wake of various efforts made by the MahaYuti government.
The Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is personally supervising the evacuation of the stranded tourists as he intervened to organise special flights, and also Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is currently in Srinagar coordinating the government’s exercise.
The state government had arranged two special flights for tourists, IndiGo and Air India, out of which 184 tourists have arrived in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, the state government is arranging a special flight for another 232 passengers on April 25. The Chief Minister had asked Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan to immediately go to Kashmir after the incident. He spoke to Mahajan and reviewed the overall situation.
The Chief Minister’s office in a release said that Fadnavis has instructed to organise more flights on Friday if needed. The government will bear the cost. When Minister Mahajan met tourists from Maharashtra who were undergoing treatment at the Army hospital, the Chief Minister interacted with those tourists on a video call and also thanked the doctors there who were treating them.
Thereafter, Shinde went to the hospital and met the injured who are recovering.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office, a three-tier system has been implemented to bring back tourists from Kashmir, consisting of the Mantralaya, the Chief Minister’s Office and the special cell in Maharashtra Sadan situated in New Delhi, and work is being done on requests coming from all corners of Maharashtra.
Arrangements have been made for some tourists to stay at Kalika Dham, Jammu. Around 14 tourists from Amravati were staying here. Some tourists have left for Delhi from Jammu as per available arrangements, and further arrangements are being made for them in Delhi. The special flight coming from Kashmir on April 25 will carry tourists from Akola and Amravati. Passenger lists are being prepared continuously at Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, and if necessary, the state government is making preparations to operate a special flight.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Shinde in his post on X said, “After the attack in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, some tourists from the state were stranded in Jammu and Kashmir. It was a challenge to bring them all back safely. After talking to the tourists there, I realised that they were under the shadow of fear. I personally went to Jammu and Kashmir to meet them to reassure them and bring them back to the state. Late last night, 75 of these tourists were brought back to the state by a special flight. My colleagues from Shiv Sena met these tourists at the Mumbai airport and consoled them.”
(IANS)
