Packed ground, no shed: 11 killed, over 120 suffer heatstroke at Maharashtra award event

As many as eleven people died and more than 120 people suffered from heat-related health issues at the Maharashtra Bhushan award event.

In Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar on Sunday. “11 people have died from heatstroke during Maharashtra Bhushan Award ceremony in Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar,” Maharashtra CMO said in a statement on late Sunday night.

People who suffered from heatstroke during the event were rushed to Tata Hospital in Kharghar for medical aid, news agency ANI reported.

‘VERY UNFORTUNATE’, SAYS CM SHINDE
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also went to a hospital where several people were undergoing treatment after suffering from heatstroke. The chief minister announced that the families of the deceased would be given Rs 5 lakh and also ensured proper treatment for those who are admitted.

“Medical treatment of people under treatment due to sunstroke will be free. The state will pay from its coffers for their treatment,” he said. The chief minister also directed officials to shift patients to specialised hospitals if they needed additional treatment.

“Lakhs of people had come for the event and it went well. It is painful to see some of them suffer. It is a very unfortunate situation which is very painful for me,” he said.

He said a Deputy Municipal Commissioner-rank official of the Panvel Municipal Corporation has been deputed to coordinate with relatives of patients and medical teams and to give timely updates.

The event was conducted to felicitate social activist Dattatreya Narayan alias Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, who was awarded with the Maharashtra Bhushan Award. Union Home Minister Amit Shah presented the award, instituted by the Maharashtra government, to Dharmadhikari.

A police official told PTI a couple of patients are on ventilator support at hospitals in Navi Mumbai and Panvel city and their condition is being monitored.

PACKED GROUND, NO SHED

Eknath Shinde’s deputy Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Kapil Patil among MLAs, MLCs, and ministers were also present on the occasion.The event, for which people had started gathering since morning, began around 11.30 am and went on till around 1 pm.

Many of them had arrived on Saturday. Lakhs of people came for the event.

The ground was packed with people and equipped with audio/video facilities for followers of Shree Sadasya (Dharmadhikari’s organisation) to witness the function. The seating arrangement for the attendees was made in the open and there was no shed, reported PTI.

Devendra Fadnavis on his Twitter wrote, “It is very unfortunate and painful that some members participating in the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony this morning died due to heatstroke… We share the grief of their families.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Aditya Thackeray and NCP leader Ajit Pawar also met people who were undergoing treatment at MGM Kamothe hospital. The leaders interacted with doctors at the MGM Kamothe Hospital and took stock of the situation.

“We have met the people who’re undergoing treatment and interacted with 4-5 of them. Two of them are in critical condition. The event was not planned properly. Who will investigate this incident?,” asked Uddhav Thackeray, launching a veiled attack on the ruling party.

Demanding a probe into the matter, Ajit Pawar, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, told ANI, “We saw that one patient is on a ventilator and his condition is serious. The rest of them spoke to us. This is a very serious incident. There must be a probe into this.”

“A total of 123 people complained of heat-related health ailments, like dehydration during the event. They were immediately referred to the 30 medical booths set up at the venue,” a revenue department official, who was on duty at the venue, said.

A total of 30 doctors were deployed at the medical booths that had intensive care unit (ICU) facilities to treat people at the venue, added the revenue minister.

A doctor at a civic hospital in Navi Mumbai’s Vashi said that five patients were admitted there for treatment after they complained of heat-related health issues.

Meanwhile, according to the weather office, some parts of the country will see a rise in temperature by 3-5 degree Celsius over the next five days.