EDITORIAL: India’s scorching political apathy

The deaths last week of 14 people due to heatstroke after they were made to sit under the sun at a public meeting in Maharashtra expose the state government’s callous disregard for the well-being of its citizens. It is preposterous that lakhs of people were ferried by bus to the event and made to sit under the sun for six hours for an award function that could just as well have been held indoors with an audience of a few hundred. That Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis were present at the function is a matter of shame.

The deaths took place at a function in Kharghar to confer the Maharashtra Bhushan award on Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, a social worker. While two tents were reserved for VIPs and media, the public were made to sit out in the open. A heat wave warning issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) was ignored by authorities while making arrangements for the meet, which makes it all the more appalling. It is disturbing that Amit Shah was aware of the discomfort of those in the audience, and praised the crowd for braving the mid-day sun.

The government of Maharashtra, especially M/s Shinde and Fadnavis, cannot disown its responsibility for the incident by taking the plea of the vagaries of nature. Even a clerk in the administration at the taluka level would know that heat stroke deaths are a major trigger of death in the summer months. Operational manuals instruct joint collectors to take measures to prevent deaths due to heat stroke in peak months. Permission for such meetings are given only if commitments are made as to the safety and comfort of the audience, with provision of water being the foremost.

Whoever planned the Maharashtra Bhushan public meeting cannot claim to be ignorant of this nationwide annual phenomenon. While the exact figures vary, hundreds of heat wave deaths occur in India in the summer months. The National Crime Records Bureau puts the number of deaths between 2000 and 2020 at 20,615 while the National Disaster Management Authority reports a lesser number, 17,767. Regardless, prevention of heat mortalities should have been the highest priority for the planners of the function. The Kharghar incident is a clear indication of how the government put its political agenda ahead of the people’s safety and welfare.

Opposition parties in Maharashtra are justified in holding the state government responsible for this tragedy. The chief minister has set up a one-member committee to probe the incident but that is not enough. Rigorous stipulations must be imposed upon organisers of such events in summer, with provision of shade, water, and medical facilities mandatory. Plus, IMD weather alerts should be incorporated into the process of granting permission for such events.

Beyond those measures, political leaders must grow out of their egoist need for large audiences to hear their utterances. Few of them have the standing to attract more than a handful to their perorations and if large numbers are ferried to them, it can only be at great and avoidable expense to the tax-payer.