Mumbai:
The Bombay High Court has ordered that those under 18 years of age cannot take part in "Dahi Handi", in which a human pyramid is built with one person climbing to the top to break a pot of buttermilk to celebrate the Krishna Janmashtmi festival.
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The court has also ordered that the handis or pots must not be strung up higher than 20 feet. Right now, some handis are hung up as high as 40 feet.
The order comes amid concern over the safety of young children who participate in "dahi handi", after a 14-year-old fell from the fifth tier of the human pyramid, while rehearsing for the festival in Navi Mumbai last week.
The boy, Kiran Talekari, was injured in the chest and head. He was discharged from hospital, but complained of chest pain a few days later and vomited blood. He was rushed to hospital but could not be revived.
Today, a 19-year-old boy died in Mumbai suburb Jogeshwari, a little after Dahi Handi practice. The police said it was yet to be ascertained whether his death had anything to do with the rehearsals, but that he had complained of giddiness soon after they ended.
On July 14 this year, the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights or MSCPCR, had banned children below 12 years from joining the human pyramids during the Dahi Handi celebrations.
The commission said it was "dangerous, hazardous and criminally wrong", and against the UN Convention, National Charter of Children and other laws to make children participate in such activities.
Children have traditionally participated as they are lighter and so can climb more easily to the top of the human pyramid which is built by people standing on the shoulders of others.
Participants compete fiercely in Dahi Handi competitions, where prize money can run into crores.
A 35-year-old man who fell during practice in Mumbai's Currey Road recently suffered a broken spine and has had to undergo major surgery.
Krishna Janamashmtmi is on August 18 this year.
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