MP: 934 Injured in Stone Pelting Sport in MP Village, Annual Event Recorded 13 Deaths in Last Six Decades
Although the local district administration had asked the people to observe the fair symbolically without pelting stones at each other, stone missiles were seen flying from both sides leading to injuries to the participants.
Bhopal: As many as 934 people were injured as two villages, separated by a river, in Pandhurna district in Madhya Pradesh celebrated the annual ‘Gotmar Fair’, a unique stone pelting sport, on Saturday.
People in the villages of Pandhurna and Sawargaon, separated by river Jam, gathered on the either bank of the river and started pelting stones at each other, kicking off the centuries old fair.
As per the tradition of the festival, a Palas tree was brought from the nearby forest by the family of Suresh Kawle in Sawargaon village and put in the mid-river.
A flag was then hoisted above the tree.
The villagers performed puja in the local ‘Chandi Mata’ temple before declaring the commencement of the festival.
People of Pandhurna then advanced towards the tree to remove the flag amid stone pelting targeting them by villagers of Sawargaon.
People in Pandhurna gave a shield to their fellow villagers who wade through the river to remove the flag hoisted on the tree by throwing stones at the villagers of Sawargaon.
Around a dozen health camps were set up in Pandhurna to provide medical treatment to the people who were injured at the event.
As many as 58 doctors and 200 other medical staff were deployed in the health camps to treat the injured people, a senior district officer told this newspaper, unwilling to be quoted since he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Around 600 police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order during the festival, he added.
Although the local district administration had asked the people to observe the fair symbolically without pelting stones at each other, stone missiles were seen flying from both sides leading to injuries to the participants.
“As many as 934 people were injured in the incident”, police said.
Pandhurna police station in-charge Ajey Markam however said that no complaint was filed in connection with the incident and hence, no case has been registered.
According to Mr. Kawle, the fair is four centuries old.
As many as 13 people had been killed between 1955 to 2023 in the stone pelting during the festival, he added.
