In the wake of Supreme Court order and the awareness of keeping the young children below 18 is a right step in the right direction. The 20 ft cut off for the height is a new and apt decision to avert major accidents.
Concerned over the safety of the young Govindas who risk their lives to re-enact the myth of Lord Krishna stealing butter during the Dahi Handi celebrations, the Supreme Court banned those below 18 from participating in the dangerous sport and limited the height of human pyramids to 20 feet.
Despite the ban, the continued scepticism at the near-impossible task of verifying the age of the Dahi Handi participants and heights of pyramids in the frenzied celebrations is a herculean task. Maharashtra government ought to have passed a legislation for the safety of the participants instead of putting the ball in Supreme Court’s court. Sound pollution is going to take heavy toll on the patients, young souls and senior citizens in the pandal area would suffer. High decibel level of the loud speaker should be reduced to the minimum. And wastage of water needs to be avoided as the State faced its worst drought condition recently. It is time to act prudently rather than showing the money power in the name of God all the time.
Anandambal Jayanthy
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
