Mumbai: Dahi Handi celebrations see 107 Govindas injured

Of the 107, 14 were admitted in various hospitals, 62 were discharged and 31 were treated in OPDs.

The heavy rain in Mumbai on the day of Dahi Handi on Thursday put hundreds of Govindas at risk this year. However, the four medical college hospitals that are inundated with injured Govindas every year, saw relatively few participants rushing into the emergency ward this year compared to last year. Most of them were taken to KEM Hospital in Parel. The total number of Govindas injured was 107 in various city hospitals and seven in Thane. Of the 107, 14 were admitted in various hospitals, 62 were discharged and 31 were treated in OPDs.

‘A tradition’

Asked what motivates Govindas to take part in the festivities every year in spite of the risks, Sandeep Narvekar, a member of Abhinandan Krida Mandal in Kalachowkie said, “It is not every year that members from our group fall, but this year the rain made everything slippery.” Rajaram Gangan, who is in his late 50s and from the same group as Narvekar, sustained minor injuries to his eye and his head. “One Govinda sustained major injuries and his leg was fractured,” he said.

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One of the first-year resident doctors posted at the Ortho-trauma Desk of a hospital said, “This is one of the most chaotic days since the past one year I have been here.” The youngest to visit KEM hospital were two 10 and 14-year-old boys. Twenty two-year-old Asawari Pavaskar, a Parel village resident, was rushed to KEM with injuries to her leg. “She was standing at the base and slipped because of the rain,” her mother, Viditi Pavaskar said. 

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