‘Don’t allow minors to be govindas’

The Govinda Mazgaon-Tadwadi team, one of the oldest groups which formed a nine-tier human pyramid to break a dahi handi, has demanded that minors should be barred from being govindas.

The Govinda Mazgaon-Tadwadi team, one of the oldest groups which formed a nine-tier human pyramid to break a dahi handi, has demanded that minors should be barred from being govindas.

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But last year, the same group broke the dahi handi at Thane by forming a nine-tier human pyramid with a six-year-old boy on top.

Yashwant Jadhav, president of the Mazgaon-Tadwadi Govinda team and a Shiv Sena corporator, raised the issue in the civic standing committee meeting on Wednesday.

He said the municipal corporation should send a proposal to the state government to restrict those below 18 years of age to participate in the dahi handi breaking festivities.

Most groups have small boys to break the handi because they are more agile and weigh less.

“The competition to build taller pyramids should stop. The government should look into this matter,” Jadhav said.

Civic standing committee chairman Rahul Shewale said he will write a letter to the state government to make a rule to restrict the age bar for Govindas.

“The child on the topmost layer is always a risk factor and many families pay the price of this ‘going high’ competition,” he added.

Jitendra Awhad, NCP legislator, who heads Sangharsha Social Organisation that organising a dahi handi in Thane, opposed Jadhav’s proposal.

Awhad said, “They [Shiv Sainiks] have started the trend of taller pyramids and participation of children to

break the handis in the festival, so first they should applogise to the society.”