- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
An award-giving ceremony in the western Indian state of Maharashtra turned deadly on Sunday (16) when 11 people who sat in the open during the event died due to sun stroke.
The news was confirmed by the state’s deputy chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis.
Chief minister Eknath Shinde later went to a hospital where around 50 people were admitted after they fell ill in intense heat.
The tragedy happened when Indian home minister Amit Shah was presenting the Maharashtra Bhushan Award, instituted by the state government, to social activist Appasaheb Dharmadhikari at an open ground in Navi Mumbai where the temperature reached a maximum of 38 degrees Celsius.
The recipient’s followers, numbering in thousands, gathered at the event to witness him getting the award. The ceremony started at 11.30 am local time and continued till 1 pm.
Condoling the deaths caused in the heat, Shinde later announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased.
“As per the briefing received from doctors, seven-eight people have died today, while 24 are being treated. This is a case of sunstroke. Some 50 people were admitted to the hospital, of which 24 are still there while the rest have been discharged after primary treatment,” the chief minister told reporters while coming out from the hospital.
In a tweet, Fadnavis said the government will pay for treatment of those who suffered heat-related illness.
“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,” the deputy chief minister tweeted in Marathi.
Several parts of India have witnessed a soaring mercury and the temperature is expected to rise by three to five degrees over the next five days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said last week.
The country reported its hottest February this year since record-keeping began in 1901, the IMD said.
