Eleven people died of a heatstroke and several more were injured in Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar Sunday during a state government event to present the ‘Maharashtra Bhushan Award’ for which Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also present.The award ceremony felicitating social activist Appasaheb Dharmadhikari started at 11.30 am and went on till 1 pm. The crowd had started gathering much before the time of the event. The ground was packed and there was no shed over the seating arrangements.
Giving information about the incident in a tweet Sunday night, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said what happened was “unfortunate” and announced an aid of Rs 5 lakh for families of all those who died.“This was an unexpected, tragic and grievous incident. I pay my respects to those who died. We share their families’ grief. As soon as I heard about the incident, I went to the MGM Hospital in Kamothe and spoke to the doctors as well as those recovering under treatment,” the CM said. He added that the government will bear the medical expenses of all those under treatment. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also called the incident “unfortunate” and said he is in constant touch with senior officials monitoring the incident.