Maharashtra: Almost 11 people, who sat in the open at the Maharashtra Bhushan award event on Sunday died due to heat stroke, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Davendra Fadnavis said.

11 people died amid heat stroke at award ceremony

According to the officials, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also went to a hospital where some 50 people have been admitted with heat-related health issues.

Moreover, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah presented the award to the social activist Appasaheb Dharmadhikari. The award was instituted by the Maharashtra government. The event was held at Mumbai’s Navi Mumbai, where the day temperature was recorded at a maximum of 38 degrees Celsius.

The award ceremony was also attended by CM Shinde and Deputy CM Fadnavis.

In the ceremony, thousands of followers of the social activist, Dharmadhikari attended the event held at a massive ground. It started at peak sun hours, around 11.30 am and went n till 1 pm. The ground was packed with people and equipped with audio and video facilities for them to see the ceremony. There were seating arrangements for the gathering; however, had no shed over it.

CM calls it ‘unfortunate’

The chief minister has called the incident “unfortunate” and announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who died.

While coming out from the hospital, Mr Shunde told the media, “As per the briefing received from doctors, 7-8 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.”

Also Read: CBI Questioned Kejriwal For Nine Hours In The Liquor Policy Case

Maharashtra government will pay for treatment

Taking to Twitter, the deputy CM wrote that the government will pay for the treatment of those who suffered heat-related illness.

In a tweet in Marathi, he 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.”

According to the IMD (India Meteorological Department), several parts of the country will see a rise in temperature by 3-5 degree Celsius over the next five days. India also reported its hottest February this year since record-keeping began in 1901, said the  IMD. Above-normal rainfall, however, kept the temperature in check in March.