Since several parts of Maharashtra is witnessing severe drought this year Mumbaikars decided to celebrate dry Holi with natural colours. The state government too had appealed to citizens to play dry Holi. Holi is the festival of colours and celebrated all over the country with much gaiety. The main cause of hooliganism, throwing harmful chemicals and balloons and molesting women in the guise of applying colour have become part and parcel of Holi. Festival like Holi should bring people together in friendship and enforce harmony. It is an eye-opener and the Rang de Holi should be celebrated in a simple way possible without causing harm. Gulals contain heavy metal content and cause eye infection if applied dangerously near the eyes. Colour paints especially black and red stick to the body and takes more than a week to remove them from the skin. Prevention is better than cure is correct. Water balloons thrown inside the trains and moving vehicles can cause eye-sight loss and serious injuries. Some hooligans mix gutter water inside plastic covers and throw at the passengers travelling by train. All the three types of colours gulals, dry colours and water colors cause severe damage to skin. The water based colours is generally colour paste which is dissolved in the water and mixed up and used in buckets and tanks to immerse people inside for enjoyment. Black colour contains lead oxide and cause blindness, risk to skin as well as allergies to the human body.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
