Mumbai: Politicians of all hues in Maharashtra are vying with each other to announce huge prize monies for breaking the dahi handis here on the occasion of Gokulashtami, one of the most popular festivals of the city.
Some of the biggest and most talked-about dahi handis (curd pots tied at a height to be broken by competing youngsters) are organized by politicians, who are widely seen as taking mileage out of the festival.
This year, NCP MLA, Jitendra Avhad’s Sangharsh dahi handi in adjoining Thane is the biggest handi in terms of prize money. The “Govinda” group (young men who form a human pyramid to reach the pot) that breaks the handi will take home a whopping Rs. 75 lakh.
MNS legislator Ram Kadam-sponsored handi will fetch the winner Rs. 31-lakh prize, said to be the highest in Mumbai.
Sankalp Pratisthan, headed by Housing Minister and NCP leader Sachin Ahir has hiked its prize money to Rs. 25 lakh from Rs. 15 lakh earlier. Shiv Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik is offering Rs. 65 lakh to the winner.
Minority Welfare Minister Naseem Khan’s mandal has announced Rs. 777,777 for breaking the handi at Ghatkapor in central suburb. Govinda mandals need to form nine or ten-tier pyramids to break most of the pots and walk away with the prizes. Apart from the big ones there are hundreds of other smaller dahi handis, which are organized across the metropolis.
Dahi handi becomes a multi-crore festival
