Bullock cart owners and farmers led by Adhalrao stage a protest in Landewadi area of Ambegaon taluka after the races were cancelled. The district collectorate denied permission to the traditional bullock cart races usually held on New Year’s Day in Maval and Ambegaon talukas, in view of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases. The denial of permission, however, drew sharp reactions from certain quarters.
The alleged ‘last-minute’ cancellation of the bullock cart races irked participants and they staged a protest. Although the collectorate remained firm on its decision citing revised government guidelines. The bullock cart races were slated to be the first such competitions in the state in nearly eight years.
Last month, the Supreme Court had allowed bullock cart races to be held in Maharashtra on the basis of the amendments made by the state to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
“We had made all necessary arrangements to organise the race at Landewadi in Ambegaon taluka at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. It would have been the first such race after the Supreme Court ruling last month,” said former Shiv Sena MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil, who joined the protest seeking permission for the races.
Adhalrao said they had no clue that the races would be cancelled till late Friday evening. “We were given permission to organise the races seven days ago. But we were told by the police that we cannot hold the races around 11.30pm on Friday. The races were slated to be held at 7am on Saturday. The administration gave us no clue that it would cancel the races at the last minute. In fact, around 6pm on Friday, collectorate officials enquired whether proper arrangements had been made,” Adhalrao said.
Adhalrao said 750 bullock carts from across the state had registered for the races. “Of these, 250 had arrived by Friday evening and the rest were expected to turn up by Saturday. We had distributed masks and sanitisers to those who had arrived. And also provided them with meals and accommodation,” he added.
When contacted, District Collector Rajesh Deshmukh said, “The decision to cancel the events was taken after the State Task Force meeting yesterday. We received the revised guidelines from the government in the evening and intimated the decision to the organisers by 7.30pm itself.”
Adhalrao blamed politics behind the move to cancel the races in Ambegaon taluka. “Everyone knows that events organised by me are a big success. Some people could not digest this fact and got the races cancelled,” he said. Adhalrao’s tirade was reportedly directed at the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Notably, he was defeated by NCP candidate Amol Kolhe from Shirur seat in the 2019 election.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, however, denied that there was politics behind the move to cancel the races. He said the decision to ban the races was taken by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. “The chief minister took the decision during a meeting with the State Task Force. The chief secretary was told to convey the decision to district collectors. The Covid-19 pandemic has made life miserable all over the world. During such a time, we cannot play with the lives of the people,” Pawar said.
The deputy chief minister added, “The Supreme Court while giving its ruling in favour of the races had made it compulsory to take permission from the collectorate. And the collectorate, in turn, has to ensure that it follows government directives in this connection. I urge all those who want to organise bullock cart races to take permission from the district collectorate.”
The races were also cancelled in Maval taluka. Local MLA Sunil Shelke said the collectorate declined permission to hold the races in a bid to control the spread of Covid-19 cases. “The races can be held later on…” he said.
Meanwhile, some enthusiastic farmers allegedly organised impromptu races in Nimgaon Khandoba village of Khed taluka. Talking about the incident, Adhalrao said: “The farmers themselves hold such races. There were no organisers as such.”
The village sarpanch, Amar Shinde, however, denied that any race was held. “The farmers must be practising among themselves. I was in the village till the afternoon. No such race was held there,” he said.
The district collector said he will ask the police to probe whether any race was held and to take appropriate action in the matter.
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