SC takes the challenge out of DAHI HANDI
Students at Chillar Feko protest roughed up by police
The Supreme Court on Wednesday poured cold water on ‘dahi-handi’ enthusiasts who were seeking nod for higher than 20-feet human pyramid.
The court refused to relax the 20-feet cap on the human pyramid it had ordered last Wednesday, endorsing the one fixed by the Bombay High Court two years ago.
"To increase the height is very scary," said the Bench headed by Justice A R Dave which had agreed to give an urgent hearing as the festival is to be observed on Thursday,
"Are you getting an Olympic medal also for this? Then we will be happy," the Bench, which also included Justices U U Lalit and L Nageswara Rao, remarked when the counsel of a Mumbai group pleaded for removal of the height restriction since it has already barred youngsters below 18 from participating in the ritual. It was also contended by the petitioners that there will be no challenge left if the curd pot is not placed high enough and is easily accessible.
A member of the Mumbaibased Jai Jawan Krida Mandal Govinda Pathak, which wanted the height relaxed, rued that none of the judges were from Mumbai to understand the thrill of the event.
Voicing the demand backed by almost every political party in Maharashtra, the sports group had sought an urgent hearing a day before Janmashtami celebration, arguing that the height restriction will be a killjoy.
The Maharashtra government had also told the court that "height is the charm of the game and courts can consider increasing the height to 25 feet.
Students and activists faced police action when they gathered outside the Mantralaya for a ‘chillar feko’ protest in which they raised slogans calling the education minister a 'Bhikari' (beggar).
The students were demanding action against a Bandra-based fine arts college that had charged extra fees from students ranging from Rs. 7,500 to Rs. 10,000 over the approved government fees.
The students were forced into three police vans and not allowed to cross the road and reach the Mantralaya. Police personnel surrounded the protestors in the middle of the road, which lead to traffic snarls. Many of them were dragged and lifted into the vans, when they refused to enter the vans.
The college is one of the few government-aided fine arts colleges. It had sought permission from the Directorate of Art (DOA) to close down its Drawing and Painting department over the coming years. However it was denied permission by the DOA to do so.
It has still not started admission process into its foundation course – which is essential for pursuing diploma or degree courses in the field. Activists said the college was out to make money as it was running courses such as hotel management in the same premises. Several meetings with education minister Vinod Tawde yielded no result and the minister has still not initiated any inquiry into the matter, a press release from the students group Vidyarthi Bharthi, which was at the helm of the protest, stated. “It seems the education minister is handin-glove with the college in making money. To satisfy his greed we are doing this ‘chillar feko’ protest,” said a protestor.