Mumbai: BJP organises 400 'Dahi Handi' events

The Mumbai unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP has organised 400 Dahi Handi celebrations in the metropolis this year including at Jambori Maidan in Worli the constituency of Shiv Sena UBT MLA Aaditya ThackerayThe Dahi Handi celebrations of Thursday are the last before next years Lok Sabha polls likely to be held in AprilMay and the polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC which have been pending since early 2022The BMC was controlled by the Uddhav Thackeraycontrolled Shiv Sena for 25 years between 1997 and 2022 and the BJP has been making allout efforts to capture the countrys richest civic bodyThis years Dahi Handi will usher in change in Mumbai asserted BJP Mumbai president Ashish ShelarShelar said BJP leaders MLAs MPs and party officebearers have organised Dahi Handi celebrations in different parts of the cityDahi Handi celebrations imitate the fun and frolic of Lord Krishnas childhood and are marked by groups of youth called Govindas making human pyramids to break curdladen potsThe festival is among the most patronised in the city and gives political parties an ideal platform for mass connectThe BJP had also organised workshops for Govindas ahead of Dahi Handi festivities and some 150 groups had participatedDahi Handi celebrations started in Mumbai on Thursday morning with much joy and enthusiasm as thousands of participants and spectators gathered to mark the occasionDahi Handi is part of the Krishna Janmashtami festival celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna During the festival Govindas or Dahi Handi participants form multitiered human pyramids to break dahi handis earthen pots filled with curd suspended in the airDahi handis decorated with flowers have been hoisted many feet above the ground at several housing societies roads junctions and public grounds across the cityDressed in colourful attires Govindas have been visiting these places in trucks tempos buses and twowheelersPopular Bollywood songs about the festival are blaring from speakers at every nook and corner of the city with the festive spirit particularly high in Marathidominated pockets like Parel Lalbaug Worli Dadar Bhandup Mulund Goregaon and AndheriIn 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 thereThese Dahi Handis attract huge crowds and a steady flow of GovindasPolice officials said they have beefed up the security agreements in the city to avoid any law and order issues during the celebrationsAccording to a release by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC it has kept 125 beds ready at civic hospitals for the treatment of the Govindas if they get injured after falling while making human pyramidsThe civic body has deputed health officers and staff in three shifts for treatment of the Govinda at the civic hospitals Besides these hospitals have been directed to keep injections medicines and surgery materials ready the release saidWith inputs from PTI