Set aside festivals, focus on health: Uddhav Thackeray to Dahi Handi organisers

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday told organisers of the upcoming Dahi Handi festival that the state should set an example by setting aside celebration of festivals for some time to banish the coronavirus completelySpeaking at a virtual meeting of the organisers the CM said the health of citizens should be given priority during a pandemicDahi Handi festival which is celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Krishna involves communities hanging an earthen pot filled with dahi yogurt or other milkbased delicacies at a convenient or difficult to reach height Young men boys and girls form teams make a human pyramid and attempt to reach or break the potThe festival enjoys a political patronisation in Maharashtra with various parties organising Dahi Handis and announcing a reward for Govindas who break the potsAlso Read Allow us to celebrate Dahi Handi will keep it lowkey mandals tell Maharashtra govtA statement from the Chief Ministers Office CMO said Dahi Handi organisers responded positively to Thackerays appeal and spoke about holding social and healthrelated activities to mark the birth of Lord KrishnaThe BJP however demanded Dahi Handi festival be allowed to be organised under certain conditions traditionallyThose who have taken both doses of Covid19 vaccines must be allowed to organise the traditional Dahi Handi at low heights without crowding The festival should not be banned BJP MLA Ashish Shelar saidSpeaking at the meeting Thackeray said the Covid19 pandemic has forced various restrictions on the daily life of peopleThese restrictions are for the welfare of people Only a few people speak of protesting against these curbs They should rather protest against coronavirus and not against the government he saidThe chief minister said the entire world is reeling under the pandemic which has destroyed many families and orphaned childrenCountries which have vaccinated most of their citizens are feeling the heat of a third wave of the pandemic and are locked down again he saidThackeray said the second wave of the pandemic is receding in some districts in Maharashtra but it is peaking in some other placesThis is a window period which we have to utilize to ensure that the livelihood of people is not impacted and the economic cycle continued he saidThackeray reiterated that a lockdown will have to be imposed again if the daily demand for medical oxygen crosses 750 metric tonnes in MaharashtraDuring the meeting state Covid19 task force chief Dr Sanjay Oak said physical distancing cannot be maintained during Dahi Handi celebrations as people come in close contact with each other while forming human pyramidsFace masks are of no use if they get wet in water The Delta plus variant is spreading fast Even if one person is infected the entire group runs the risk of catching the Covid19 infection he saidHe asked organisers to keep the festive spirit up by organising camps to donate blood and Covid19 treatment equipmentThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever