Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday travelled from Mumbai to Shirdi aboard the Vande Bharat Express, continuing the state government’s symbolic public transport and fuel-conservation push following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for austerity and responsible fuel usage.
Visuals from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus showed the Chief Minister arriving at the station amid tight security before boarding the semi-high-speed train for Shirdi.
The Mumbai CSMT–Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express, which operates six days a week except Tuesdays, departs from Mumbai at 6:20 am and reaches Shirdi at 11:30 am, covering the 343-km journey in just over five hours.
The latest train journey is being viewed as another attempt by the Maharashtra government to reinforce its austerity message at a time when rising global crude oil prices have pushed fuel costs sharply higher across the country. Petrol and diesel prices have increased multiple times this month, adding pressure on commuters and state finances.
Fadnavis Skips Private Jet, Travels By Indigo Economy
The move comes days after Fadnavis travelled from Pune to Bengaluru on May 15 on a commercial flight by IndiGo in economy class instead of using the state’s chartered aircraft. According to a post shared by ANI, Fadnavis chose an economy seat on a regular commercial flight as part of the Maharashtra government’s austerity and fuel-saving measures.
Earlier, Fadnavis had grabbed attention by riding a motorcycle from his official residence ‘Varsha’ in Malabar Hill to Vidhan Bhavan in South Mumbai as part of the government’s fuel-saving awareness campaign.
Fadnavis had defended his decision to travel by bike, saying symbolic gestures by leaders help spread awareness among citizens. BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar had accompanied him during that ride.
Speaking after the bike journey, the Chief Minister had said the state government had already begun implementing austerity measures, including reducing ministerial convoys, curtailing unnecessary foreign tours and avoiding large-scale government events for the next six months.
“The Prime Minister has only asked people to make small sacrifices while himself taking very tough decisions,” Fadnavis had said while accusing the Opposition of creating unnecessary controversy over the symbolic exercise. As part of the same initiative, Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar had also travelled in electric vehicles to Vidhan Bhavan and Mantralaya earlier this month.
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