13 people died of heatstroke after attending the Maharashtra Bhushan Award event at Navi Mumbai
Under fire for the 13 deaths due to heatstroke at a state event on Sunday, the Maharashtra government has banned outdoor events between noon and 5 pm till heatwave conditions in the state abate.
Thirteen people died of heatstroke after attending the Maharashtra Bhushan Award event organised by the state government at Navi Mumbai Sunday.
This year, the award was presented to activist Appasaheb Dharmadhikari and lakhs of his followers turned up for the event held in an open ground. Visuals showed the huge gathering in the open ground under the scorching sun. On the day, the area recorded a maximum temperature of 38 degrees Celsius.
The event was attended by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had flown in to hand over the state's highest civilian award to Mr Dharmadhikari.
In the wake of the tragedy, Chief Minister Shinde announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the dead. He and Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis termed the incident as "unfortunate" and expressed their condolences.
The Opposition, however, hit out at the state government over the planning for the event.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, demanded that a culpable homicide case be registered against the Eknath Shinde government over the deaths due to heatstroke.
"This unfortunate incident is not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster. The government is fully responsible for this unfortunate incident," Mr Pawar tweeted. He also demanded higher compensation for the families of the dead.
Responding to the Opposition's questions on why the event was held at noon, when it was very hot, state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar Monday said the timing was suggested by Mr Dharmadhikari.
"Appasaheb Dharmadhikari had given us the timing and the event was planned accordingly. Politics should not be brought into everything," he said.
The state government has also come under criticism by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. It was a rebellion led by Mr Shinde that toppled the Uddhav Thackeray-led coalition government of Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress. Mr Thackeray has now lost the Shiv Sena's party name and symbol to the faction led by Mr Shinde.
"The event was not planned properly. Who will investigate this incident?" Mr Thackeray questioned after visiting those who were hospitalised after they suffered heatstrokes at the event.
Large parts of the country are witnessing heatwave conditions over the past few days, with many cities recording maximum temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius. Several regions of the country have reported departure from normal temperatures by as much as 3 to 5 degrees.