Mumbai: With the shadow of the death of a 11-year-old boy during a dahi handi practice looming over this weekend's Gopal Kala, Swati Patil, the petitioner who filed a plea for safety restrictions during the festival, said that youngsters should not sacrifice their lives for what is now a largely political celebration.
The boy died on Sunday after head injuries during a fall from the top of a human pyramid. Preliminary reports indicate that the dahi handi mandal did not observe any safety precautions during the practice. The Dahisar police have book the president of the Mandal and charged him of causing a death by negligence and disobedience of an order by a public authority.
Swati Patil, president of Lokjagruti Samajik Sanstha, whose petition resulted in the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court's orders to the Maharashtra government in 2014 and 2015 to lay down rules for dahi handi, including restrictions on the height of the human pyramids and a ban on participation of children, said, "I ask young people not to sacrifice their lives for political shows," said Patil.
There is an upper limit of 20 feet for the formations and a restriction on participants below 18 years of age - later relaxed to include anyone over 14 years of age. The organisers also have to provide safety equipment like helmets and climbing robes to break falls, and emergency medical aid.
While traditional Gopal Kala celebrations involved a game by informal groups of young men and women who enacted the mythological scene with a few tiers, the festival changed in the last few decades with the involvement of politicians. Large organised teams, wearing sponsored jerseys, competed to create the tallest human pyramids.
According to Patil, the restrictions mean that 70% of mandals have closed down. After a few mishaps, the groups disband, said Patil who gave the example of a team in Curry Road that stopped participating in the competitions after the death of a member during the celebration.
"Ninety percent of the events are hosted by political leaders. However, the government is reluctant to act against them for fear of losing their vote banks. Why are politicians not booked when accidents happen?," asked Patil. "The government is playing with lives. Two years ago, the then Chief Minister said that cases filed against mandals will be withdrawn. That has not happened. This means the politicians are misleading the public."
Patil filed a contempt petition against a senior politician two years for making an appearance at a Worli event that broke the restrictions. The petition is still pending.
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