The 'Maharashtra Bhushan' award event in Navi Mumbai turned tragic with the death of at least 13 people apparently due to sunstroke as the function, attended by millions, was held in an open ground.
Amit Shah, the union home minister, attended the ceremony held in the Kharghar neighbourhood of the Raigad district, which borders Mumbai, and presented the award to Appasaheb Dharmadhikari, a spiritual leader and social reformer.
IMD issues alert for northern, eastern states
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued a heat wave alert for states in northern and eastern India amid rising temperatures. As per the weather department, heat wave conditions are likely over Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Gangetic West Bengal and Sikkim during the next four to five days and will abate thereafter. The Met Department added there will be rainfall over northwest India during April 18-20.
Mercury has also soared in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, and eastern Uttar Pradesh and in many parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat. The maximum temperature in Delhi is likely to reach 41 degrees Celsius, as per the Regional Meteorological Centre.
Places such as Rajasthan’s Bundi (45.2 degrees Celsius), Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj (44.6 degrees Celsius), Odisha’s Barapada (44.2 degrees Celsius), Madhya Pradesh’s Jhansi (43.6 degrees Celsius), Andhra Pradesh’s Nandigama (43.5 degrees Celsius), Jharkhand’s Daltonganj (43.4 degrees Celsius), Odisha’s Jharsuguda (43.4 degrees Celsius), Maharashtra’s Chandrapur (43.2 degrees Celsius), and Madhya Pradesh’s Datia (43.2 degrees Celsius) are the hottest places in India on Tuesday, as per private weather monitoring agency Skymet Weather.