Faced with growing protests, the Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday decided to file a review petition on the High Court’s order which placed restrictions on human pyramids in the dahi handi competition during the Janmashtami festival. In an order delivered earlier this week, the High Court had restricted the height of the pyramids to 20 feet and also banned minors from participating in the dahi handi contest.
“We will be filing a review petition on Thursday asking for more time from the court. We have not had the time to formulate rules based on the High Court’s directive,” Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said.
The restrictions had generated protests from the troupes that participate in the festival, with their apex body even threatening to defy the height restrictions.
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“We welcome the government’s move. In fact we have voluntarily decided not to include children below 12 in the human pyramid. We are more concerned about the restrictions on the height of the pyramid,” said Bala Padelkar, President of the Dahi Handi Coordination Committee which represents 1,200 troupes.
The government also faced pressure from the organisers of the festival, many of whom are politicians. These include Cabinet Ministers Jitendra Avhad and Sachin Ahir from the Nationalist Congress Party. Mr Avhad had already declared that he would approach the Supreme Court against the High Court’s order. Several key organisers had announced they would cancel their events in view of the High Court order.