Centuries-Old Got Mar Mela Fair In Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara Leaves 500 Injured

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Nearly 500 people have sustained injuries in the Got Mar Mela in the Pola area of Pandhurna district of Madhya Pradesh, official sources said on Saturday.

The competition is to take the flag installed in the middle of the Jam River which flows between Pandhurna and Sawar village.

In the middle of the two villages, there is a temple of goddess Chandi after offering prayers at the temple the residents of these two villages put a flag in the middle of the river compete with one another to take the flag.

The one who takes the flag wins the competition.

The residents of the two villages throw stones at one another so that nobody can take the flag. 

Thousands of people witness the fair, and the district administration makes arrangements for the Mela.

The police and health workers are deployed for the Gotmar Mela. The seriously injured are sent to Nagpur for treatment.

The police further informed, more than 600 security personnel were deployed. Over 500 people got injured, but most were discharged after first aid.

This year, neither village managed to capture the flag, and the contest ended in a tie at around 7:30 pm.

Local elders say the origins of the fair are unknown, but the tradition has continued for generations. The event is held every year on the second day after the new moon in the Hindu month of Bhadrapad.

Earlier, villagers used slingshots to hurl stones, which caused severe injuries and even deaths. Authorities have now banned slingshots, but the practice of stone-pelting continues, leading to hundreds of injuries each year.