Politics prevailed over people's convenience, says Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut on Monday blamed the Maharashtra government for the death of 11 people due to sunstroke after attending an award function and claimed politics prevailed over the convenience of peopleThe Maharashtra Bhushan award event in Navi Mumbai on Sunday turned tragic with the death of at least 11 people due to sunstroke as the function attended by lakhs was held in an open ground in Kharghar area of Raigad district neighbouring MumbaiThe function was attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah who conferred the award on spiritual leader and social reformer Appasaheb DharmadhikariSpeaking to reporters Raut said The Maharashtra Bhushan award function could have been held in the evening but Union minister Amit Shah had no free time Thus the programme was held during the day time and people got exposed to the scorching heat and sunlightAlso Read 20 people still hospitalised after sunstroke at Maharashtra Bhushan award functionPolitics behind the award prevailed over peoples convenience the Rajya Sabha member saidHe said every state government has its own experts and advisers who could have informed the officials about not holding such a large gathering during the day timeThere should have been some wisdom applied on how long the programme should be stretched he saidThe programme got stretched too long and people fell sick A few of them even died because of it The people who attended the event had come for Appasaheb Dharmadhikari and not for any other politician present on the stage Raut saidThe Shiv Sena UBT spokesperson further said there have been similar incidents in the past and the state should have learnt some lessons from them before organising such eventsThe Maharashtra Bhushan is the states highest civilian award given to people from different walks of life to recognise their contribution towards the welfare of societyLakhs of people had come for the event held on Sunday The 306acre ground where the function was held was packed with peopleChief Minister Eknath Shinde his deputy Devendra Fadnavis and Union minister Kapil Patil were present on the occasionDharmadhikari has a massive following in the state due to his tree plantation drives blood donation and medical camps as well as deaddiction work in tribal areasThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever