It seems the SC’s order led to a quieter festival and fewer injuries than last year
Despite all the grumbling about the Supreme Court’s restrictions on the height of human pyramids, it seems to have worked. Numbers don’t lie, and while the dahi handi frenzy might have cooled down this year, injuries were down by an impressive 42 per cent.
Most parties followed the court’s orders, ensuring 42% fewer injuries. Pic/Sameer Markande
ADVERTISEMENT
With the municipal elections coming up, political parties do not want to leave any stone unturned in scoring points among their voters. While they all joined in the festivities, almost every party stuck to the court order, except for the MNS in Thane.
Even the Shiv Sena, which had made a lot of noise after the SC ruling, followed all the rules and kept a 20-ft handi at Shiv Sena Bhavan. Siddhesh Sawant, committee member of Yuva Sena said, “Many people are upset with the court’s order, and to condemn the decision, many mandals protested by lying on the road in a horizontal pyramid. The dahi handi at Sena Bhavan was under 20 ft and followed all the directions of the court.”
BJP played it even safer in the western suburbs. Advocate Gyanmurti Sharma, who is a BJP corporator from Malad, had put up a handi, which he claims was only 19 ft high. “Obviously this year, the fervour surrounding dahi handi was low, but we did abide by the court orders,” he said.
Krishna Hegde, former Congress MLA and dahi handi organiser, said, “Firstly, most of the organisers abstained from participating in the festival this year. The turnout was also low and there was no star power either, because of which the whole scene was dull,” he said.
Fewer injuries
Last year, 218 were injured, out of which 25 had to be admitted. One death was also recorded last year. This year, however, as of 8 pm, 126 cases of injuries were recorded. Out of these, 34 had to be admitted but are in stable condition.
Minor injured
A 13-year-old boy, Sujal Gadapkar, sustained serious injuries after he lost balance and fell from the sixth tier of a human pyramid at a dahi handi event at Lal Chowkie in Ulhasnagar. The boy is a member of the Radhesham Govinda Mandal, and fell around 5 pm. He has suffered injuries on his chest and head and fell unconscious after the fall. He is currently in the ICU at Fortis Hospital. Raj Asrodkar, a local activist, said, “If the mandal had tied the handi at 20 feet, the incident would never have happened. They should not have let a minor participate either. Action should be taken against them.”
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
