Dahi handi revellers risk life, limb and contempt of Supreme Court

MUMBAI: Dahi handi revellers in Mumbai and Thane flouted the Supreme Court’s order in myriad ways while celebrating Janmashtami on Thursday. At several places, govindas

MUMBAI: Dahi handi revellers in Mumbai and Thane flouted the Supreme Court’s order in myriad ways while celebrating Janmashtami on Thursday. At several places, govindas formed human pyramids well over 20 feet high, children as young as eight participated in their formation, and revelers shunned basic safety equipment such as harnesses, helmets and cushioned mats.

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Ahead of the festival, the Supreme Court had said that human pyramids for dahi handi must not exceed 20 feet in height, children under 18 should not participate in their formation, and mandals must procure safety gear for their govindas.

However, the court’s order was flouted at several places, including Chembur, Dadar, Parel, Lalbaug and Naupada junction in Thane.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and the Shiv Sena led the way in flouting the court order.

In Thane, the police filed a case against Avinash Jadhav of the MNS, who sported a T-shirt emblazoned with the message ‘I will break the law’ in Marathi. Jadhav was charged with wilfully disobeying an order by a public servant – in this case the police.

While the Thane police took immediate action against violators, booking over 100 people from 16 mandals for violating the court’s orders, the police in Mumbai took a more passive approach.

Apart from Chembur, where a case was registered against seven mandals, the police simply recorded videos, noted noise levels and issued notices to various mandals. More action, based on the videos and noise-level recordings, is expected in the next few days.

Shaji Umap, deputy commissioner of police, zone 6, said, “We are registering cases against seven mandals at Chembur police station for violating restrictions on height of human pyramids the age of govindas.”

Celebrations organised by the MNS at Naupada junction in Thane involved a dahi handi 49 feet above ground, where govindas formed a nine-tier pyramid over 40 feet high. Here, as at several other locations, the topmost tier comprised a child well under 18 years of age. After the police intervened, organisers reduced the height of the dahi handi to 20 feet. Over 150 people were reportedly injured during celebrations in Mumbai. Rakesh Ghatmale, from Worli’s Golden Krida Mandal, who participated in the Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena’s celebrations at Shivaji Park, was seen spaying a painkiller on his knees and back. “I don’t know how high 20 feet is, but this pyramid was tall. I was in the second tier and was injured when people fell on my back,” Ghatmale said.

At some places, govindas formed pyramids that exceeded the 20-foot cap, but rather than break the dahi handis, they offered a token salute as a mark of protest.

Near Ideal Bookstore in Dadar, govindas resorted to an innovative – and safer – form of protest by forming a ‘sleeping pyramid’ in which participants lay on their backs to symbolically violate the 20-foot height restriction.

The Taramati Charitable Foundation’s event in Borivali, organised by Prakash Surve of the Shiv Sena, saw many mandals forming six- and seven-tier pyramids with children perched atop and no safety gear or cushioned mats for protection.

At the Bhartiya Vidyarthi Sena’s dahi handi celebration at Shivaji Park, organised by the Sada Sarvankar of the Shiv Sena, the dahi handi was hung from a crane. The event, like most others, lacked safety equipment such as harnesses, helmets and cushioned mats for the govindas.