Record number of 75,000 govindas receive Dahi Handi insurance in Mumbai | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: All it took was political determination and a small investment of Rs 56 lakh by the Maharashtra government. This year, a record number of 75,000 govindas have received free insurance cover for the festival of Dahi Handi that will be celebrated September 7.
This is more than twice the number of 36,500 govindas who were insured independently by their mandals the previous year.
The feat was achieved by the combined will of the state, a public sector insurance company and the Dahi Handi Samanvay Samiti. CM Eknath Shinde has finally come good on his promise of providing insurance which he announced in 2022 but failed to materialise.
Sachin Khanvilkar, manager of Oriental Insurance, which designed this special policy, said, “As of September 5, we have insured a total of 79,333 govindas which is unprecedented. Each player gets Rs 10 lakh cover by paying a premium of just Rs 75. The state has paid the premium for 75,000 youths from 983 Dahi Handi mandals which works out to Rs 56.25 lakh. The rest of the boys have been insured by the mandals themselves.”
Until Monday, 42 mandals had independently purchased policies for 2,820 members of their own volition. That number rose on Tuesday. Remarkably, 60 mandals outside the MMR region have also taken policies, which is another first, said Khanvilkar.
Most of the clauses are routine, except one. “The claim will be denied if the govinda is drunk. Intoxication endangers not only that particular player but also the boys who depend on him for support as they climb. The entire human pyramid can collapse,” said Khanvilkar.
The policy came into effect on Guru Purnima day (July 3), which is when the teams begin practice, and will expire the day after Gokulashtami.
Sandeep Dhavale, founder and coach of the champion Jai Jawan Govinda Pathak, Jogeshwari, which won last week’s Pro Govinda championship, was pleased that the state had honoured its word. “We have always insured our boys on our own, but this is welcome,” he said.
Bala Padelkar, president of the Samanvay Samiti said, “The number of insured youth has doubled this year. Yet there are still a few thousand govindas from smaller mandals who could benefit if the state allocated more funds. We would like to secure the last mile player of the smallest mandal. But we are thankful the state has at least taken the first step.”