November 29, 2025: Shiv Sena (UBT) on Saturday sharply criticised the MahaYuti government, arguing that its grand claims of infrastructure growth fail to address the basic needs of remote tribal communities, reported IANS. In its editorial, Saamana said the administration’s promises of development amount to nothing more than “empty words” and “colourful balloons” when people living just a few hours from Mumbai continue to struggle with poor roads, weak healthcare systems, and unreliable ambulance services.
The Thackeray-led faction urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to shift focus toward essential facilities such as accessible roads, functioning health centres, and dependable emergency services, rather than emphasising large-scale infrastructure projects like metro lines, highways, and tunnels.
The criticism intensified after a disturbing incident in Mokhada, in Palghar’s tribal belt, where an ambulance driver abandoned a woman and her newborn halfway home after delivery, forcing them and their relatives to walk two kilometres. According to the editorial, the incident — revealed only after a citizen uploaded it on social media — highlights the stark disconnect between the government’s “vision of development” and the lived reality of vulnerable communities.
The editorial noted that even after decades of independence, regions like Wada-Mokhada continue to lack basic amenities, reported IANS. It stated, “There are no proper roads or adequate transportation facilities (daldalvanachi soy). Even if a Primary Health Center (PHC) exists, it often lacks doctors, staff, or medicines. Due to a lack of roads, pregnant women and sick people have to be carried in slings (zoli) or palanquins (doli) to the nearest town for treatment, which frequently leads to deliveries or deaths during the journey. Even when ambulances are available, they are often useless due to a lack of roads or a lack of drivers.”
Calling out the government’s development narrative, the editorial questioned, “In Mumbai, which the Chief Minister talks about transforming, Mokhada is just a stone’s throw away. If the ambulance driver had been so callously negligent with a laboring tribal woman, what use is your development vision and your transformation?”
It further added that despite the government boasting of highways, bridges, metro networks, and hospitals, the Mokhada incident “revealed how baseless these talks and balloons are,” reported IANS.
Source: Mid-day
