Mah Govt announces Rs 5 lakh aid for families of six victims from State

 

 

 

MAHARASHTRA Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said six of the 26 people gunned down by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam town hailed from the State and their bodies are being brought back. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of each deceased hailing from the state. Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, said he has deputed ministers to oversee the arrangements for bringing back the mortal remains of the tourists from the state.

 

The CM said six residents from Maharashtra, including natives from Mumbai and Pune, were among the 26 people killed in Tuesday’s terrorist attack in Pahalgam which he denounced as a cowardly act. In a post on X, Fadnavis said the mortal remains of Sanjay Lele and Dilip Disle will be brought to Mumbai by an Air India flight from Srinagar. Cabinet ministers Ashish Shelar and Mangalprabhat Lodha will be at the Mumbai airport for coordination, while minister Madhuri Misal has been entrusted with the responsibility in Pune, he said. Another cabinet minister Girish Mahajan is leaving for Srinagar, the CM said. Arrangements are also being made to bring back other tourists from Maharashtra who are in Jammu and Kashmir, the CM maintained. Meanwhile, Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi said the administration is coordinating with the families of the slain tourists, Kaustubh Ganavate and Santosh Jagdale, for their funeral.

 

“We are coordinating with the families to facilitate the last rites,” Dudi said. A total of 264 tourists from Pune city and nearby areas had travelled to Jammu and Kashmir in recent days, and many of them are currently stranded at various locations across the Union Territory, he informed. Dy CM Shinde heads to Srinagar to expedite return of Maharashtra tourists from Kashmir: MAHARASHTRA Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday left for Srinagar to expedite the process of bringing back State tourists stuck in Kashmir, an official said. Several tourists from the state are stuck in the Union Territory after the terror attack in Pahalgam in Kashmir on Tuesday. The attack claimed the lives of 26 persons, mostly tourists. Shinde himself going to Kashmir is likely to expedite the process of bringing back the tourists, his office said in a statement. He left for Srinagar in a private aircraft, it said. Shinde will meet the stranded tourists, assess the local situation and supervise the logistics related to their return, official sources said.