No Dahi Handi celebrations in Maharashtra this year due to Covid-19

There will be no Dahi Handi celebrations on this Janmashtami in Maharashtra due to Covid-19. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has appealed to mandals to give priority to the health of citizens and keep festivities aside for some time on humanitarian grounds.

The delegations have positively responded to the appeal and expressed their desire to undertake social and health-related activities instead of Dahi Handi.

The Dahi Handi ritual is part of the Janmashtami festival in Maharashtra, where youngsters (called Govindas), dressed in colourful attire, make human pyramid to reach an earthen pot containing buttermilk and suspended in mid-air, and break it.