Dahi Handi 2023: BMC keeps 125 beds ready at civic hospitals to treat injured Govindas

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Wednesday said that it has kept a total of 125 beds ready at civic hospitals in the city in case any 'Govinda' - a person forming a human pyramid as part of a group activity during the Dahi Handi festival - gets injured during the act, the PTI reported on Wednesday.

Dahi Handi will be celebrated in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra on Thursday. It is part of the Krishna Janmashtami festival, celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna. During the festival, Govindas form a human pyramid to break a 'Dahi Handi' (curd pot) suspended in the air.

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In a release issued this evening, the BMC said that of the 125 beds, 10 are kept ready at Sion hospital, seven at KEM hospital, four at Nair hospital and the remaining ones at various civic hospitals in the city and suburbs, according to the PTI.

According to the civic body, it has deputed health officers and staff in three shifts to treat the injured Govindas at these hospitals, which have been directed to keep injections, medicines and surgery materials ready, the news agency reported.

Those Govindas, who sustain minor injuries, will be given primary treatment and discharged, while arrangements have been made at the hospitals to treat those who need treatment for a longer period, the release said, as per the PTI.

As part of the celebrations, Govinda troops visit various parts of the city to break dahi handi, an earthen pot filled with curd (dahi), butter or other milk products.

Since the dahi handi is placed several feet above the ground, the Govindas form multi-tiered human pyramids to reach and break it.

There are chances of participants falling down and injuring themselves, sometimes critically, during the formation of human pyramids.

Some organisers of the dahi handi event offer hefty cash prizes for the Govinda troops that succeed in breaking the pot. Some prominent Govinda teams even attempt formation of 8 to 9-tiered human pyramids.

Meanwhile, the preparations to welcome Govindas and celebrate Dahi Handi in Maharashtra's Thane were in full swing on Wednesday evening. The Thane Police, as a precautionary measure, was also seen conducting a flag march in parts of the city.

(with PTI inputs)