Mumbai, Jul 18 (PTI) The Maharashtra government will provide insurance cover to 1.5 lakh ‘govindas’, state sports minister Dattatray Bharne said in the assembly on Friday.
‘Govindas’ are those who form human pyramids to break butter-filled pots during Gokulashtami festivities, also called ‘dahi handi’ in several parts of the country, including Maharashtra.
“The Maharashtra government has decided to provide insurance coverage to 1.5 lakh govindas through a government insurance company. The activity of forming human pyramids during the festival has been recognised by the government as an adventure sport. Considering the growing participation in dahi handi celebrations, the number of insured govindas has been doubled compared to previous years,” he said.
Speaking to reporters later, he said a corpus of Rs 1.25 crore will be made available from the State Sports Development Fund to implement the scheme.
In 2023 and 2024, a total of 75,000 govindas each were covered by the Oriental Insurance Company, he said, adding the number has been increased to 1.5 lakh for 2025.
He said all participating youths must take proper precautions while forming human pyramids during dahi handi celebrations. PTI MR BNM
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