Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday conferred the Maharashtra Bhushan Award to spiritual leader and social activist Dattatreya Narayan alias Appasaheb Dharmadhikari and said it was very rare to see the tradition of social service being passed from one generation to another. Lakhs of followers of Dharmadhikari attended the grand function held on a sprawling 306-acre ground in Kharghar area of Raigad district. Flower petals were showered from a helicopter on the activist, dignitaries present on the dais and others who were part of the gathering. Dharmadhikari has a massive following in the state due to his tree plantation drives, blood donation and medical camps as well as de-addiction work in tribal areas. The ground was packed with people and equipped with audio/video facilities for followers of Shree Sadasya (Dharmadhikari’s organisation) to witness the function. The Maharashtra Bhushan award was instituted when the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance came to power in 1995.
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