Communication gap: Minister on no state funeral for Achrekar

A senior Maharashtra minister Thursday attributed master blaster Sachin Tendulkar's first coach Ramakant Achrekar not being given a state funeral to a 'communication gap' at the government level.

Housing minister Prakash Mehta, who represented the state government at the funeral of the celebrated cricket coach, said Achrekar not being given a state funeral was "sad and unfortunate".

"It is somebody's mistake and communication gap. I as a government representative, I'm sorry. This is very sad. I will check what happened," Mehta told reporters at the Shivaji Park crematorium, adjacent to the spot where the 87-year-old coach trained Tendulkar.

Mehta, former Mumbai BJP chief, said he will speak to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on this matter. "I got a message from Mantralaya (the state secretariat) only this morning to attend the funeral," he added.

Archrekar, the childhood coach of Tendulkar, died Wednesday at his Shivaji Park residence in Dadar in Central Mumbai.

A senior official from the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said, "We were not informed by the Protocol Department about the requirement for funeral with state honours."