Whether it was a letter from a widow complaining about services in the gram panchayat or from a passerby who stopped his car on the side of the road, Ajit Pawar would patiently listen to the complaints and ensure that the right questions were asked, he reminded government officials in Pune.
Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister died in plane crash at the Baramati airfield on Wednesday morning.
Both Naval Kishore Ram (currently municipal commissioner of Pune) who was Pune District Collector during the COVID 19 pandemic and Ayush Prasad (currently Jalgaon District Collector), then the CEO of Pune Zilla Parishad paid tribute and said that he was known for his openness and genuine concern for the officers.
They remember his strong work ethic and tireless dedication. Prasad said that Ajit Pawar I had a specific schedule chalked out for the week. “I was at Mantralaya from Monday to Thursday. Fridays were reserved for Pune and Saturdays for Baramati,” Prasad recalled.
“In the meetings, he personally read each petition and assigned follow-up actions to the departments concerned through detailed Excel spreadsheets, closely monitoring even routine tasks to ensure that genuine concerns were addressed,” Prasad recalled. Naval Kishor Ram, who was Pune district collector during the COVID-19 The pandemic is reminiscent of how they would have had weekly meetings with Ajit Pawar to determine strategies to deal with the virus.
“He was genuinely concerned about the health and lives of Punekars,” Ram said, adding that soon after taking charge as Pune municipal commissioner, Ajit Pawar would follow up with him on issues related to sanitation and traffic. “It is not only a loss for the state but also a personal loss for officers like me,” Ram said.
Critical timeline: VT-SSK, Learjet 45 aircraft, January 28, 2026
Take off: Learjet 45 leaves Mumbai airport
5 on board: Pawar, PSO Jadhav, assistant Mali, pilots Kapoor and Pathak
Plane tracked on Mumbai-Baramati route via Flightradar24
Flight route: Mumbai → Pune → Baramati
Source: Flightradar24
Radar loss: The aircraft disappears from tracking
Final approach loop pattern detected before accident
“Plane makes noise during landing… leaves runway, big explosion”
eyewitness account
Bombardier Learjet 45, VSR aviation operator
Twin-engine executive jet, 6-seat capacity
Mumbai-Pune trip for four election rallies
Zilla Parishad polls: February 5 voting, February 7 results
Express InfoGenIE
At a recent function in Pune, Neelam Gorhe, vice president of the Maharashtra Legislative Council, remembered him as a workaholic and spoke about Ajit Pawar’s unwavering work ethic. In fact, while praising the government’s commitment, he had humorously asked Pawar on the stand if the government’s top brass ever got enough sleep.
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Ajit Pawar’s big push for AIIMS in Pune
The Deputy Chief Minister had ambitious plans to improve healthcare in Pune and was interested in setting up an Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the city. The facility would be built in Aundh, where the district hospital facilities were selected.
A super specialty dental center was also planned and according to Pune district civil surgeon Dr Nagnath Yempalle, an area had been allotted for the project. “There was a focus on improving healthcare and at least seven sub-district hospitals, each with a capacity of 30 beds, were expanded to 100 beds in places like Chakan, Ghodegaon and others. A radiotherapy unit was also planned at Baramati,” a health official said. Dr Eknath Pawar, dean of BJ Medical College, Pune and Sassoon General Hospital, recalls a meeting with Ajit Pawar in which Dy CM strongly insisted that patients be treated carefully and without financial hardship.
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