A Maharashtra heat stroke tragedy, and a social worker hailed universally by political parties

While condolences poured in from every political party, nobody yet has taken responsibility for the human tragedy. At a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, it was decided that the state government should not hold public rallies in the open during daytime in this season.

With Union Home Minister Amit Shah as an attendee, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had personally taken charge of the preparations and monitoring of the entire ceremony. From two days before the function, his team boasted to the media about how they had made elaborate arrangements to turn it into a record-breaking event.

There was a reason the event had such a high-profile political footprint.

Born in Revdanda in Raigad district of Maharashtra, Appasaheb inherited the social service legacy of his father Narayan Vishnu Dharmadhikari. Back in 2008, it was the Congress-NCP coalition government led by CM Vilasrao Deshmukh that gave the Maharashtra Bhushan award to Narayan, popularly called Nanasaheb, for his service. Unfortunately, Nanasaheb passed away before he could receive the award, and Appasaheb collected it on his behalf at a similar grand function in Kharghar.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and other leaders felicitate Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari. (Express Photo)

Since then, Appasaheb has been carrying out social work in diverse fields under the banner of Dr Shri Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan Trust, a registered NGO. “With the help of 20 lakh dedicated workers, the Pratishthan has taken responsibility of managing five state forests, maintenance of 53,300 km stretch of roads free of cost. With the help of 16,000 followers, it has extracted 642 tonnes of soil while desilting various ponds and lakes. Many such works are currently being undertaken by this organisation,” Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said at the recent award function.

Such drives of The Trust, including for de-addiction, have earned it an army of followers, both in rural and urban Maharashtra.

In 2017, Appasaheb was bestowed a Padma Shri by the Centre, after then CM Fadnavis recommended his name. He was awarded an honorary Ph.D by the D Y Patil University in 2014.

On the matter of Appasaheb, there are no differences along party lines. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray describes him as a crusader who has worked relentlessly for the welfare of the common man. NCP leader and Raigad MP Sunil Tatkare says, “Appasaheb’s contribution in various fields is immense.” CM Eknath Shinde calls himself a “Shrisevak”. “My association with the organisation goes back several decades.”

State Congress chief Nana Patole has demanded a special session of the Assembly to discuss what went wrong at the event, leading to the heat stroke deaths. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut has slammed the government for its lapses, while MNS president Raj Thackeray has said, “What was the need to hold such a big event? The award could have been given at the Raj Bhawan.”

Sensing trouble, the BJP has distanced itself from the event, indirectly laying all the blame on the shoulders of Shinde’s team. A senior BJP functionary, requesting anonymity, said, “The CM’s chosen team had taken all responsibility. We were not even consulted. They wanted to take all the credit. So, if they failed to make proper arrangements or overlooked the heat wave, they should face the public’s wrath. It is unfortunate that we are having to share the backlash.”