New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Wednesday poured cold water on ‘dahi-handi’ enthusiasts who were seeking nod for higher than 20-feet human pyramid. The court refused to relax the 20-feet cap on the human pyramid it had ordered last Wednesday, endorsing the one fixed by the Bombay High Court two years ago.
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“To increase the height is very scary,” said the Bench headed by Justice A R Dave which had agreed to give an urgent hearing as the festival is to be observed on Thursday, “Are you getting an Olympic medal also for this? Then we will be happy,” the Bench, which also included Justices U U Lalit and L Nageswara Rao, remarked when the counsel of a Mumbai group pleaded for removal of the height restriction since it has already barred youngsters below 18 from participating in the ritual. It was also contended by the petitioners that there will be no challenge left if the curd pot is not placed high enough and is easily accessible.
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A member of the Mumbai-based Jai Jawan Krida Mandal Govinda Pathak, which wanted the height relaxed, rued that none of the judges were from Mumbai to understand the thrill of the event. Voicing the demand backed by almost every political party in Maharashtra, the sports group had sought an urgent hearing a day before Janmashtami celebration, arguing that the height restriction will be a killjoy.
The Maharashtra government had also told the court that “height is the charm of the game and courts can consider increasing the height to 25 feet. ” The Apex Court’s order last Wednesday banning participation by those below 18 in the pyramids and limiting the height to 20 feet had come on a petition by the state government challenging this height fixed by the Bombay High Court.
MNS IS going ahead, prizes jeopardised
Mumbai :City Dahi Handi organisers are in a tizzy over the fate of the prizes for the proposed human pyramids. Says Arun Patil, a group trainer for Dahi Handi participants, “We invest a lot of money into the celebrations: However, due to the SC ruling, the challenge has gone out of the human pyramids and this will affect the prizes, too.’’ Sources said the pickings of the organisers would also diminish and this is causing them a lot of heartburn. Some political parties like the MNS are, however, determined to go ahead with the celebrations, as planned. Many outfits, which are essentially fronts for political parties, have even declared the prize money for the event running into lakhs. Meanwhile, the city police have asked organisers to abide by the Supreme Court guidelines during ‘Janmashtami’ which falls on Thursday (today).
