Politicos strive to declare dahi handi a sport

Taking the popularity of dahi handis into account, politicians in Thane are pushing to accord the festival the status of a sport.

Taking the popularity of dahi handis into account, politicians in Thane are pushing to accord the festival the status of a sport. The frontrunners in this one-upmanship game are NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad and Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik.

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While Sarnaik said that the said proposal is with the state government, Awhad plans to submit the proposal to an international body. “Though the proposal has been sent to the state government, we plan to approach the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to give dahi handi the status of a sport,” said Awhad. His outfit, Sangharsh, has announced an award of Rs25 lakh for those forming a 10-tier pyramid.