Mumbai: Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Praveen Darekar alleged that people of Konkan who wanted to visit their hometown for the Ganesh Festival had suffered a lot due to the indifference showed by the Maha Vikasaghadi government.

Darekar pointed out, “People travelling to Konkan in this pandemic period had to arrive before August 12. The rules were announced by the Maharashtra state government itself. Accordingly, the Railways had indicated its readiness to run the special train on July 23. But due to the negligence of the Maharashtra state government, this special train could not start in time. The state government approved the railways after a consistent pursuit by the railways but most of the people already travelled by private vehicles or the ST buses. As a result, special trains did not directly benefit the people of Konkan.”

Darekar said, “Nearly about 3 lakh people working and staying in Mumbai has gone to Konkan for Ganeshotsav this year. The government could not bear the small financial burden of Rs 100 crore for the resident of Konkan.” He added, “This strange management of the Mahavikas Aghadi government with Ganeshotsav is just around the corner.”

He was speaking at a press conference held at the (BJP) Bharatiya Janata Party's state office. Keshav Upadhye, Chief Spokesperson of the region, Bhai Girkar, Prasad Lad, Mihir Kotecha, and Parag Alvani and others were present.