11 people died of sunstroke while attending a government award ceremony organized on Sunday afternoon in Navi Mumbai. With temperatures shooting up to 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 ℉), it was an open-air ceremony held in Kharghar. Thousands of people attended the ceremony where federal home minister Amit Shah conferred the Maharashtra Bhushan Award on a reputed social worker, Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, popularly known as Appasaheb Dharmadhikari.
The ceremony began at 11 AM and lasted for around three hours. Other than the Union Home Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Kapil Patil, and state Cabinet ministers also attended the ceremony.
Heat wave takes a toll
According to the statement issued by the Maharashtra CMO, Eknath Shinde, on Sunday night, as many as 11 people died from sunstroke. At least 50 people were rushed to the Tata Hospital in Khargarh, where they complained of dehydration, increased blood pressure, and exhaustion from the scorching heat.
Dharmadhikari followers reportedly began congregating at the location on Saturday morning, according to the Navi Mumbai police. A medical official with the Panvel Municipal Corporation said that Thane, Raigad, and Navi Mumbai health officers were brought in to set up 55 booths to offer emergency medical care to attendees.
BJP office-bearers had given a rough estimate of more than 10 lakh footfalls for the ceremony. According to local sources, the ceremony was held on open ground without the facility of roofed shade, exacerbating the exhaustion and suffocation of the people who attended.
Compensation announced by the government
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde went on to visit the MGM hospital in Khargarh to visit the people undergoing treatment there. He announced Rs. 500,000 in compensation for the families of the deceased and promised fair and proper treatment of the patients there, who were undergoing treatment for heat stroke.
Shinde informed the media as he left the facility that 26 of the initial 50 patients had already been released following primary care. The condition of three patients, who are receiving treatment, was deemed critical by State Industries Minister Uday Samant.
Atul Londhe Patil, the general secretary of the Congress and the spokesperson for the Maharashtra Congress, accused the state government of negligence. “For this, the government should be charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder,” he had tweeted.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also sent out a tweet in Marathi saying that the government will bear the treatment costs for all those who suffered from heatstroke and heat-related illnesses. “We share the grief of their families,” His tweet ended, with the promise of government help for the heat-afflicted attendees.
Ensuing Heat wave warning issued by IMD
A heat wave is declared when the highest recorded temperature in a state reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains, 37 degrees in coastal areas, and 30 degrees in mountainous areas. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued a heat wave warning for the states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar over the next four to five days, which might continue over the week.
IMD also confirmed that heatwave conditions have been prevailing in some areas of Gangetic West Bengal, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar over the last week. The Bengal Government also declared on Sunday that all educational institutions in the state will remain closed for one week because of the prevailing heat wave conditions.
