26-year-old hurt in Dahi Handi revelry succumbs to injuries

Thane resident had spinal injury after govinda fell on him

Dakshak Kelaskar

Twenty-six-year-old Dakshak Kelaskar, who was severely injured in the dahi handi celebrations last month, succumbed to his injuries on Saturday at the civic-sun Sion hospital.

Kelaskar, a resident of Thane, was at the base of the human pyramid and had sustained a spinal cord injury when the pyramid crashed and a govinda fell on him.

No sensation in limbs

Doctors said his blood pressure kept crashing and he was eventually put on ventilator support. “He had no sensation in his limbs,” said a doctor, adding that a metal rod from a previous surgery did not allow them to perform an MRI scan on him.

A member of the Dharmaveer Govinda Pathak, Kalsekar did not have insurance, nor was he wearing any safety gear to limit the impact of a fall or pyramid crash. “We had never stopped him from participating in dahi handi. It is one of the traditions of our State. I never imagined that I would lose my son to this,” said Kalsekar’s father, Laxman, who works as a security guard.

“He would take part like all other enthusiastic youngsters in the area. We never discussed safety measures that he could take or if he should be insured,” he said.

Other patient improves

This year’s dahi handi celebrations on August 24 saw another major injury. Lalbaug resident Sunil Sawant, a bystander, was injured when a pyramid crashed and one of the govindas fell on him.

Doctors at Hinduja Hospital, where he was operated on, said he had weakness in his limbs due to the spinal injury, but had shown progress after the surgery. “Thankfully, we were able to operate on him within 24 hours. In such cases, timely surgery is very important for recovery,” said spine surgeon Dr. Kedar Deogaonkar from Hinduja Hospital.

He said Mr. Sawant has regained considerable strength in his limbs and will be discharged on Monday.