A year after it accorded the Dahi Handi festival as an “official sport”, the Maharashtra government is set to host the first-ever Pro Govinda League in Mumbai.
The Pro Govinda League would be held on 31 August on the lines of the Pro Kabaddi League.
This year Krishna Janmashtami falls on 6 September, which would be followed by Dahi Handi or Gopal Kala on 7 September.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar have okayed the event and it would be held with all necessary permissions and safety precautions.
The Pro Govinda League would be held at the National Sports Club of India at Worli in Mumbai.
Around 50,000 Govindas, including 3,500 from Mumbai, would be participating in the event.
The first prize comprises a whopping Rs 11 lakh, second Rs 7 lakh, third Rs 5 lakh and fourth Rs 3 lakh.
During the festival, Govindas, as the participants or revellers are known, re-enact the myth of Lord Krishna stealing butter from a hanging pot, known as the dahi-handi. They form human pyramids to reach out to the earthen pot filled with curd and break it.
The announcement was made by State Industries Minister Uday Samant, Sports Minister Sanjay Bansode, Maharashtra Olympic Association Secretary Namdev Shirgaonkar, Dahi Handi Coordination Committee’s Purvesh Sarnaik among others.
“The Govindas would be insured,” said Samant.
“We are organising this competition as the formation of the human pyramid is now recognised as an adventure sport. We want to take this competition to an international level,” said Bansode.