Shiv Sena plays safe against flu, urges modest fest

Mumbai: Shiv Sena, Maharashtra’s main opposition party, will celebrate the Janmashtami festival on Friday without the popular "dahi-handi" ritual as precaution against swine flu.

Party executive president Uddhav Thackeray issued an appeal to people to do away with the ritual and have only simple 'puja'. This followed a meeting of top party leaders and Mumbai Mayor Shubha Raul on Wednesday morning.

The "dahi-handi" game where human pyramids are formed to reach a yogurt-filled earthen pot strung high is a huge crowd puller in the state. It re-enacts an episode from the childhood of Lord Krishna, whose birth anniversary is celebrated on Janmashtami.

The meeting also discussed ways to check milling crowds during the festival to control the spread of swine flu, which has claimed 10 lives in the state so far.

Last weekend, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan had also appealed to all Janmashtami festival organisers to refrain from crowded celebrations lest it helped the H1N1 virus spread.

He had also appealed to celebrities, especially television and film stars, not to attend "dahi-handi" celebrations, as their presence could make it major crowd events.

Mumbai's "dahi-handi" celebrations usually draw large number of people, they are well organised events with pots of money and big glamour involved for the victorious 'Govinda' who breaks the pot. The person breaking the pot is called Govinda after Lord Krishna.

The festival also presents opportunity for various sideshows, cultural events, and even fashion parades and talent contests, all attracting huge sponsorships.

A similar decision to knock off "dahi-handi" from the celebrations has been taken by the top Janmashtami organisers of Pune like Akhil Mandai Mandal and Dagdhu Sheth's Janmashtami Mandal.

Other smaller organiser groups are expected to follow suit in the city and surrounding areas, especially since Pune has become the epicentre of the swine flu epidemic in the country.

In Thane and Navi Mumbai, several organisers have appealed to people not to turn up in large numbers at the Janmashtami celebrations and instead watch it live on cable television.

As a precautionary measure, the organisers have also decided to keep volunteers at the entrance of the celebration venues to keep out people suffering from flu-related symptoms. Anyone found coughing would not be allowed in or asked to leave the venue.

The mandals have appealed to people not to bring children to the venues, while they have also decided to keep medical teams and ambulances at all venues.

So far, swine flu has claimed 11 lives in Maharashtra. The nationwide toll was 15 on Wednesday morning.