Mumbai: Dahi Handi celebrations turn into hospital visits for 63 Govindas

A Govinda who fell during tier formation of a pyramid being taken to KEM hospital in Parel on Tuesday. Pics/Atul Kamble

By late Tuesday evening, Dahi Handi celebrations across the city had given way to hospital visits for 63 Govindas, with eight admitted to various hospitals. Among those injured was 26-year-old Rajesh Das, a Wadala resident and member of the Dwarkabai Mandal. He was rushed to KEM hospital after falling from a Dahi Handi pyramid. "We were holding a trial in the area before visiting other competitions. He was on the third tier and fell because of the rain," said Aakash Kochrekar, Das's friend who took him to the hospital.

Das had dislocated his shoulder in the fall and was sent home after being kept under observation for about an hour.

Prasad Jadhav, 30, a member of the Bal Mitra Mandal, fell from the third tier while his team was making a formation at Jambhori Maidan. He was also rushed to KEM hospital. "We are still trying to assess if it is a fracture, but he was complaining of severe pain in the foot," said a resident doctor. Jadhav was seen being taken around the hospital in a wheelchair as he was unable to walk. "They told us to have an X-ray done," said his friend Alankar. At the state-run JJ hospital, doctors noted that a patient had rushed in with facial trauma. "He is under treatment and has not been admitted so far," said a hospital spokesperson. Those admitted were spread across various hospitals in the city: one at GT hospital, another at KEM Hospital, one at MT Agarwal hospital, one at Kurla's Bhabha hospital, and three at Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar.

All three admitted to Rajawadi Hospital are children. An 11-year-old has a bruise on the back of the head and a six-year-old, experienced nasal bleeding after falling from the second tier of a pyramid while a nine-year-old fractured his right forearm. All are reported to be stable. One of them has been discharged.