Absence of state honours for Ramakant Achrekar shocks fans

Mumbai: Eminent cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar was cremated at the Shivaji Park crematorium on Thursday. His funeral, however, was mired in controversy, as no state honours were accorded to him.

Cricket buffs have expressed dismay, saying that the government should have been as proactive as it was while giving a state funeral to actress Sridevi and former Indian cricket captain Ajit Wadekar.

Achrekar, a Padma Shri recipient, passed away on Wednesday after a brief illness. Hundreds of people, most of them from the cricketing world, were present to bid adieu. However, many were shocked to see that state honours were not accorded to the legendary coach who trained several cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli.

A senior bureaucrat told The Asian Age that there is no rule on according mandatory state funerals to Padma recipients. “There were no directions from the top to give a state funeral to Achrekar. They should have instructed us about this,” he said.

Asked how Sridevi and Wadekar, who were also Padma awardees, were given state honours last year, he said that at the time they had received instructions from the chief minister’s office.

Prakash Mehta, minister for housing, who attended the funeral, expressed regret over the matter. “It was sad and unfortunate that Achrekar was not given a state funeral. On behalf of the state, I express regret on this matter. I will bring this to the notice of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis,” he said.

Although minister Ram Shinde handles the protocol portfolio, Mr Fadnavis is in charge of the general administration department (GAD), and the protocol wing comes under the GAD as far as state funerals are concerned.

Achrekar was conferred with the prestigious Dronacharya Award for his services to cricket in 1990. He was awarded the Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honours in India, in 2010.