Amit Shah unwell, cancels Kolhapur visit, heads to Delhi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has abruptly cancelled his visit to Kolhapur. Doctors advised him to rest after he was unwell, following which he left directly for Delhi from Hubli in Karnataka.

Shah was scheduled to visit Kolhapur over two days, Saturday and Sunday. The visit had been planned in advance and the full programme had been drawn up accordingly. But after his health worsened, he left the programme midway and departed for Delhi.

Ahead of his visit, local leaders in Kolhapur city had already put up welcome banners and hoardings. The police administration had also arranged tight security for the visit to ensure it went off without any trouble. But as soon as news of the cancellation came in, the welcome banners and hoardings put up in the city began to be taken down immediately.

During the visit, Shah was to perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the "Mahalaxmi Green Energy" project at the Kallappana Awade Jawahar Shetkari Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana premises in Hupari. Based on the "waste to best" and "zero waste" concept, the project involves an investment of Rs 600 crore and will work on converting waste into energy and other products. Shah was also to inaugurate several development works in Eksamba village in Chikodi taluka of Karnataka, which will now have to wait.

Local BJP MLA Rahul Awade had made large-scale preparations for the Hupari programme so that it could be held in a grand manner. In Shah's absence, the programme is now expected to be held by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, though there has been no official announcement in this regard and what happens next remains unclear.