Maharashtra: Heatwave Kills 11 At Kharghar Award Event, CM Shinde Announces Rs 5 Lakh Relief

At least 11 people apparently died due to sunstroke, while over 120 people suffered from heat-related health issues due to sun exposure, of which 50 were taken to the hospital, during the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony in Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar on Sunday.

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

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the MGM Hospital where the patients are being treated. The chief minister has announced a compensation of Rs five lakh to the kin of those deceased, sources told News18.

Twenty-four people are currently being treated at the hospital.

The function held in Kharghar area in Raigad district neighbouring Mumbai was attended by Union home minister Amit Shah who conferred the award on spiritual leader and social reformer Appasaheb Dharmadhikari.

Dharmadhikari was given the Maharashtra Bhushan award and lakhs of his followers attended the grand event.

The event, for which people had started gathering since morning, began around 11.30 am and went on till around 1 pm.

The seating arrangement for the attendees was also made open without any shed. The nearest weather station to the spot of the event recorded a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius.

“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. Thirteen of the patients, who needed further treatment, were shifted to different private hospitals and the condition of one of them is serious,” a revenue department official, who was on duty at the venue, said.

“At least 11 deaths apparently due to sunstroke have been confirmed,” the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a release on Sunday night.

The police official said some patients were discharged after recovery, while some remain admitted in hospitals and are under observation.

Before the CMO release, Shinde had told reporters outside a hospital in Navi Mumbai that at least 50 people were admitted there out of which 24 are still hospitalised while the rest have been discharged after primary treatment. He termed the deaths “very unfortunate”.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis termed the deaths as “unfortunate and painful,” and expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased. 

In a Tweet, Fadnavis said, “It is very unfortunate and painful that some members participating in the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony this morning died due to heatstroke. offer my heartfelt tributes to these seekers. We share in the grief of their families. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced to provide Rs 5 lakh assistance to the families of the deceased through the state government.”

He also said that the cost of treatment for those undergoing treatment will be borne by the state government. “The Chief Minister himself visited the hospital and took information and gave appropriate instructions to the doctors. The administration is maintaining complete coordination and we are in constant contact with the senior officers,” Fadnavis added.

The NCP has reacted to this, with Suraj Chavan saying that innocent people have died due to “negligence of the government.”

In a Tweet in Hindu, Chavan said, “by keeping the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony in the sun, it is believed that some innocent people have died and many people have died due to the negligence of the government. This is a case of culpable homicide by the government.”

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