Akshay’s medical trip stirs up social media

A flying visit by Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar for a reported medical treatment with a Nashik doctor has apparently sparked off a social media controversy, though the star himself has not commented on the issue yet.

It was a couple of days ago (Thursday) when a chopper carrying Kumar landed at a private helipad in Sapkal Knowledge Hub at Anjaneri-Wadholi on the outskirts of the city, where he was received by several people, and later he reportedly stayed at a local resort.

However, when questioned about this, Maharashtra’s Food & Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal claimed that he was not aware of the incident coming at the height of the on-going lockdown. “I have no information about this. I have sought information from the Collector who granted the permission before commenting on the matter,” Bhujbal said.

Bhujbal was quizzed on how the actor was permitted to fly in a chopper from Mumbai to Nashik, given the serious COVID-19 situation, the continuing lockdown with partial relaxations, the heavy rains and other aspects.

Kumar’s flight has thrown up other questions like the urgency of his medical treatment, especially since even top VVIPs have been avoiding air travel in the current scenario.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray travelled by ferry from Mumbai to Raigad last month to assess the Cyclone Nisarg damage, and drove by road from Mumbai to Solapur for the Ashadhi Ekadashi annual puja (prayer meeet) at Pandharpur town, while cabinet minister Ashok Chavan last month made a road journey from Nanded to Mumbai for his Covid-19 treatment.