159 'Govindas' of Mumbai injured in Janmashtami dahi handi celebrations

Dahi-handi is an intricate part of Janmashtami celebrations, especially in Mumbai. It is done on the birthday of Lord Krishna who is lovingly called Govinda and, during the dahi handi event, youngsters form human pyramids to reach for the prize money that is stored in the earthen handi (or pot). Lord Krishna's fondness for milk products is legend and the earthen handi contains generous amounts of dahi or curd.
Invariably, climbing the human pyramid to access the 'loot' is fraught with dangers and, this year, 159 Govindas have suffered injuries. Out of the injured, two children, a 12 year-old from Ulhasnagar and a nine-year-old from Kandivli, are battling for life after suffering serious head injuries. And, this is in spite of a Supreme Court order that has imposed certain restrictions on participation of children - those below 18 are barred. However, the event went on and the injured had to be rushed to hospitals with cuts, bruises, blunt trauma and a few with fractures through the day. Out of them 115 were given first aid and discharged.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 26 August 2016.

Incidentally, as a result of the SC directive, the number of those injured was less as compared to previous year- statistics of the BMC reveal that last year, the figure was 364 and this year it is nearly half.
Both the kids who have suffered serious injuries fell from the sixth tier of a human pyramid. One of them was not provided safety harnesses which aggravated his injuries.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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