2 dead, more than 300 injured in Dahi Handi festivities in Mumbai, Thane

Mumbai | Two people have died and more than 300 sustained injuries during the 'Dahi Handi' festival in Mumbai and neighbouring Thane city that drew large crowds of people, civic officials said on Sunday.

Of the 318 persons injured in Mumbai, only 24, including a nine-year-old boy, have been hospitalised while the rest were discharged after treatment on Saturday, they said.

The festival, celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Krishna, saw troupes of young men and women forming human pyramids to break dahi handis (pots of curd) suspended in the air with ropes.

According to officials, the highest number of 135 people were injured during the festivities in the island city, followed by 111 and 72 in the western and eastern suburbs, respectively.

Two of the injured persons, including a nine-year-old boy, are in a critical condition, they said.

The boy, identified as Aryan Yadav, a resident of Tanaji Nagar, was injured during celebrations at a chawl and is undergoing treatment at a civic-run hospital in Kandivali, while Shreyas Chalke (23) has been admitted to government-run GT Hospital.

Among the casualties, a 32-year-old man, identified as Jagmohan Shivkiran Chaudhari, fell to his death while tying a 'dahi handi' in Mankhurd in the northeastern part of the metropolis, and a 14-year-old boy was declared dead at a hospital in Ghatkopar on Saturday night.

"Chaudhari was tying the handi to a rope from the first-floor window grille of his house in Maharashtra Nagar when he fell. He was taken to the civic-run Shatabdi Govandi Hospital, where he was declared brought dead," an official said.

Rohan Mohan Malvi, who was part of the Gaondevi Govinda Pathak, fell unconscious while sitting in a tempo at Adarsh Nagar in the Andheri area. He did not take part in the pyramid formation since he recently suffered a bout of jaundice.

In the neighbouring Thane city, 22 participants were injured while attempting human pyramids, local civic body's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.

Of them, 17 were admitted to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, including some who suffered head injuries, shoulder dislocations, waist and chest injuries, he said.

An 18-year-old participant, who suffered a head injury, was referred to the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai for advanced care. Some of the others injured were children in the age group of 5 to 10 years, the official said.

Another five persons were admitted to the District Government Hospital in Thane, with injuries ranging from hand fractures to back pain and abrasions, Tadvi said.

The festivities drew large crowds at multiple mandals in Thane, where actors Govinda, Chunky Pandey and Sunil Shetty joined the celebrations.