2 weeks after Ajit Pawar’s death, crash site becomes an unlikely landmark

Discussions inevitably break out, and every theory and conspiracy is aired. “Ti porgi changla chalwat hoti (The girl was a good pilot),” says one, referring to Shambhavi Pathak, the first officer of the fateful flight. “If all these aircraft can land easily, how could ‘dada’s’ plane with such an experienced pilot crash?” says another, pointing to the training aircraft passing overhead and landing without a glitch.

Nitin Ghusalkar has come with his wife and little daughter from Malegon Budruk, 15 km away. “The police had cordoned off the area and did not let us visit the day of the accident, so I came today. I still can’t believe ‘dada’ is gone. It still doesn’t feel real,” he says.

Kundaliklal Ghude, an NCP worker from Kusgaon Khurd, drove 150 km with his friend. “We have a lot of love for ‘dada’ and it was our wish to visit here ourselves. It feels horrible to see this scene,” he says.

For many visitors, the cleared ground is not enough. Some crouch and use small rocks to dig at the site, hoping to find remnants of the aircraft. Others show relatives around, narrating how the accident took place, turning the patch of earth into a story that can be retold.

Ragho Atole, who owns a farm just beside the airstrip and was present while the rescue operations were underway, stops by to recount what he saw that day. “I was here a few minutes after the accident happened. Two bodies were recovered first and the other three were recovered after a tractor moved the plane. The bodies were not just burned, they were completely cooked,” he says.

Almost everyone here seems to have a personal memory of Ajit Pawar. Many pull out old selfies clicked with him, holding up their phones as proof of proximity.

Vaishali Khare, visiting her village near Baramati from Pune, says she will go next to Vidya Pratishthan to pay respects after stopping here. The educational institution founded by the Pawar family, it was where Ajit Pawar’s mortal remains were brought for public homage and final rites. “The Pawars are like family to us. For  eight days I could not believe it had happened. So I thought I should at least visit the spot and see for myself. One doesn’t feel like watching such a spot but still,” she says.

Sachin Dasgude, Vijay Mhaske, and Milind Shelke, all friends, drove 90 km from Shirur in Pune district. Even though they are associated with the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, they say their love for Ajit Pawar remains undiminished.

Pune-based IT professionals Raviraj Chavan and Chaitanya Kamble have undertaken the 100-km journey for the second time. Both are originally from Baramati and had visited the spot soon after the accident as well. “Dadachi athvani sathi aalo (We came for ‘dada’s’ memory),” they say.

Two 15-year-old boys, who wandered onto the site, had come from their village Lasurne, around 30 km away, with their families to collect cooking vessels distributed by the government. The two sneaked away from the adults and found their way to the crash site.

But even this death site has not been spared a familiar mark of Indian tourists: litter. Plastic bottles and discarded coconuts now lie scattered across the ground. At the airfield itself, routine has returned. Operations at the two training schools are back to normal. Carver Aviation has operated at Baramati for over three decades, while Redbird Flight Training Academy was set up in 2017.

Shivaji Taware, Airport Manager at Baramati, says the airfield was shut for five days after the accident, until February 2. “Private commercial flights have still not been allowed at the airfield but the training academies have been given the go-ahead by DGCA to begin their operations. No other changes have taken place at the airfield,” he says.

Above the visitors and the flattened patch of ground, training aircraft continue to pass overhead and land — routine returning to Baramati, even as people keep arriving at the cleared crash site, simply to stand where it happened.