Lawyer Ejaz Naqvi on Friday filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Bombay high court seeking recognition of the dahi handi festival as a sport at the national level. The petition also states that action be taken against teams for allowing untrained children participate in the festival. It also pleads to constitute a screening committee for the selection of govindas or dahi handi teams to frame rules and guidelines for regulating the said sport of the dahi handi.
Mr Naqvi who filed the PIL before the bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah, told this newspaper that the dahi handi celebrations be treated as a sport and its organisers should religiously follow safety guidelines to lessen injuries to participants.
The PIL states that the tempos ferrying the dahi handi participants are more often than not overloaded. It states that if fire norms are to be taken into consideration and as the place where the event is organised is jam-packed, a fire breakout can claim the lives of thousands of people. The group that trains them should take responsibility and get insurance policies for its participants, and organisers should take responsibility for injuries suffered by the govindas, it states.
The PIL alleges that people are using the traditional “sport” for political gains and have their own vested interests.
“Can the height of the dahi handi be regulated by law? ” asks Mr Naqvi in his PIL.