11 die of heat stroke at Maharashtra Bhushan award event
Eleven people who sat in the open at the Maharashtra Bhushan award event on Sunday died due to heat stroke, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also went to a hospital where some 50 people have been admitted with heat-related health issues.
Home Minister Amit Shah presented the award, instituted by the Maharashtra government, to social activist Appasaheb Dharmadhikari. The event was held at Navi Mumbai, where the day temperature was recorded at a maximum of 38 degree Celsius.
Shinde and Fadnavis also attended the award ceremony.
The social activist’s followers numbering in thousands came to the event that was held at a massive ground in Navi Mumbai. The award ceremony started at 11.30 am and went on till 1 pm.
The ground was packed with people and equipped with audio and video facilities for them to see the event. The seating arrangement for the audience, however, had no shed over it.
Shinde called the incident “unfortunate” and announced a compensation of ₹ 5 lakh to the families of those who died.