Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar's visit to Nashik sparks controversy

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar's visit to Nashik by helicopter and stay in a resort during the lockdown has sparked off a controversy.

Maharashtra's food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who is the guardian minister of Nashik district, sought details form the district administration on the matter. From Mumbai, the actor took off in a chopper from Mumbai and landed in the Sakpal Knowledge Hub at Anjaneri-Wadholi and later stayed in Grape County resort.

"I am not aware of the visit (of Akshay Kumar) but a lot of people have complained to me," Bhujbal told reporters.

"During monsoon and lockdown are helicopters allowed...I don't know...whether one can stay in a resort is also a question...I don't know...who allowed the visit and for what purpose it was, I have asked officials to look into," said Bhujbal, a senior politician and NCP leader.

Another question that rose is that why the Nashik city police gave escort to the actor, when his route of travel was in the jurisdiction of Nashik rural police.

According to reports, Akshay Kumar is planning to set up a martial arts, naturopathy and meditation centre in Trimbakeshwar in Nashik.

Later, Bhujbal's office issued a statement, in which it emerged that Akshay Kumar had gone there for medical treatment. According to a clarification, the escort was not for the actor but part of the convoy and security detail of Nashik police chief.

During the Covid-19 lockdown and unlocking phase, ministers of the state are travelling by road. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had used ferry service to visit Raigad after the Nisarga cyclone that caused extensive damage to the coastal areas. Recently, for performing the traditional puja of Lord Vithoba and Rakhumai at Pandhurpur in Solapur on the occasion of Ashadi Ekadashi, Thackeray drove with his family. When public works minister Ashok Chavan, a former chief minister himself, was diagnosed with Covid-19, he was shifted to a hospital in Mumbai by road.