07 September,2023 03:40 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
Dahi Handi celebration at Masjid Bunder (Photo/Sameer Abedi)
On Thursday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde asked the Govindas to ensure that the Dahi Handi festival is celebrated safely and by preserving the religious sentiments attached to it.
CM Shinde visited a 'Dahi Handi' event in Thane's Tembi Naka. Before addressing the event, Shinde paid tribute at Anand Ashram nearby, which was the office from where his mentor late Anand Dighe.
"In Maharashtra, the enthusiasm for Dahi Handi festival has become "limitless". The government had taken efforts to remove all (coronavirus-induced) curbs," CM Eknath Shinde said.
Last year, the making of human pyramids for 'Dahi Handi' was given the status of 'adventure sport' by Maharashtra government, "The festival day has been declared a holiday and insurance of Rs 10 lakh has been taken for each participant," CM Shinde added.
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"Participants should take utmost care to protect the religious sentiments attached to the festival and must ensure there is no blot on the celebrations," CM Shinde said.
Dahi Handi celebrations started in Mumbai, Thane and other districts of Maharashtra on Thursday morning with much joy and enthusiasm as thousands of participants and spectators gathered to mark the occasion.
In recent years, some Dahi Handi events backed by politicians in Mumbai and neighbouring cities have become famous due to hefty prize money, the presence of celebrities and entertainment programmes organised there. These Dahi Handis attract huge crowds and a steady flow of Govindas.
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party's Mumbai unit organised 400 'Dahi Handi' celebrations in the city this year.
This year's Dahi Handi celebrations are the last before next year's Lok Sabha polls, and the polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
"This year's Dahi Handi will usher in change in Mumbai," asserted BJP Mumbai president Ashish Shelar.
As a precautionary measures, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has stated that it has kept 125 beds ready at civic hospitals in Mumbai in case any 'Govinda' gets injured during the event.
