‘Heat was extreme… caused dehydration, nausea and dizziness’: Injured victims

“When the event ended, we started walking towards the several exits to reach the parking lots. Because of the chaos and extreme heat, I fell… as did many others,” said Narendra Gaikwad, who injured his leg and is recovering at the MGM hospital in Kamothe. A native of Murbad, the 41-year-old is a teacher. He has been a follower of Dharmadhikari since 2003 when he attended his first satsang.

Dnyaneshwar Ramchandra Patil from Sandhurst Road has been an ardent supporter of Appasaheb’s ideology since his childhood. The 41-year-old arrived at the event with his wife Jayashree on Sunday morning. He was admitted to the MGM hospital after he fell and injured himself while leaving the ground. He said that his parents too are followers of Dharmadhikari.
“Appasaheb teaches us good values. We have been taught the perils of alcohol, cigarettes and superstitions. We are taught good social values and how to treat our parents well,” he said. “All is well now,” Patil said as he was discharged on Monday afternoon.

Lonavala’s Mangal Ashok Sawant, another follower of Dharmadhikari, was also admitted to the MGM hospital after she injured her foot. She had arrived on the day of the event and was accompanied by several others who travelled from Lonavala to the venue in a consort of three buses. “When the event ended, people started leaving without following instructions. My friend
who was with me fell because of the commotion. Unfortunately, she fell on me and both of us ended up with injuries. My friend injured her shoulder and I hurt my foot,” said Sawant.

Also admitted at the MGM hospital are sisters Parvati Suresh Patil and Vidya Patil from
Virar. They became followers of Dharmadhikari after their marriages. “He is like god for us”, said Parvati.

Apart from followers of Dharmadhikari, two patients at the MGM hospital are policemen who were on duty at the event when they suffered from dizziness and fell to the ground unconscious.

Requesting anonymity, a relative of one of them told The Indian Express, “He came from Nashik, from where around 150 followers of Dharmadhikari had come to attend the ceremony.”
Meanwhile, the visit by political leaders at the MGM hospital became a source of inconvenience for other patients admitted there. With the director of the hospital and several others attending to the leaders and their security protocols, resident doctors and administrative staff too faced impediments with their regular operations.

According to officials, 21 patients had been admitted to the MGM hospital, of which seven were discharged on Monday afternoon. “The patients started coming in around 5-5.30 pm on Sunday,” said Medical Superintendent Dr Rahul Peddawad. “We have conducted the postmortem of the deceased and submitted the report to the Panvel Municipal Corporation.”

Findings of the postmortem reports, however, are yet to be made public. Dr K R Salgotra, director of the MGM hospital, said, “All patients complained of discomfort, dizziness and giddiness. To avoid heatstroke, people must avoid going out in the afternoon, and keep themselves hydrated.”
Additionally, nine patients were admitted at the Trauma Care Centre at Vashi’s NMMC Hospital. “All the patients at our hospital except for one have been discharged,” said a medical officer at the NMMC hospital. Several others were taken to Belapur’s MGM hospital, Tata hospital in Kharghar and other government hospitals in Panvel and Raigad.