Despite low turnout of the people last year, the number of Dahi Handis to be organised in the city on August 18 may witness more crowd this year.

The sporting festival that offers fat prizes by political heavyweights and featuring stars from the Hindi and Marathi film and television industry, had left 205 people, trying to form human pyramids injured and two deaths reported last year. Doctors fear, the fall may snowball into a long term effect like paraplegia.

Last year, in Thane, some govindas were injured in their attempt to break the record of a nine-tier pyramid, according to the disaster management control room of the local municipality.

The celebrities provide glam quotient to the festival. ‘The handi which was organized last year at Worli was one of the most colourful ones as many Bollywood A-listers graced the occasion,’ boasted a prominent politician there.  

“Every year, a couple of people die and several are injured,” a division bench of Justices VM Kanade and PD Kode said on Friday. “This needs to be regulated, ultimately it is a festival but now it has become commercial. Unless there are statutory regulations the height will not controlled.”

Meanwhile, the public prosecutor Sandeep Shinde informed the court that that the police can stop acts which are dangerous in nature under section 140 of the Bombay Police Act. But he added that it would have to be checked if human pyramids can be regulated under this provision. To which the court said: “Most dahi handis are on the street, and are put up by private organisers. If it is a festival, then we cannot pass orders to regulate it. The government can, through some executive order, ensure regulation either by the police or the home department. Something has to be formulated to act as a deterrent.”

There are some politicians who want to confer the festival a sports status like the one in Spain. ‘Conferring sports status would enable govindas to get trained to form human pyramids, a la Spain. That would minimize the mishaps.