Indore, Madhya Pradesh: A traditional Hingot war fest in MP’s Gautampura village in Indore’s Depalpur where fireballs are thrown at each other as part of the ritual has turned out to be accidental. In the incident, almost 30 people were hurt while performing the ritual. As per reports, 7 people were wounded severely while the other 23 experienced minor injuries. This war fest is a century-old tradition that is followed by the natives of this place. But due to the pandemic, it was not celebrated for the last two years.
Though generally it is celebrated on the 2nd day of Diwali, this year it was celebrated on the 3rd day of the festival of lights. Depalpur SDM Ravi Kumar said, “A police force, fire brigade, and ambulances were deployed by the district administration to organize the fest of Hingot war. CCTV cameras were also installed at the spot. Around thousands of people visit there to see the fest, for which arrangements were made to cover the ground with nets from all sides for the safety of the visitors”, regarding the incident.
For the ones who don’t know, Hingot is a kind of fruit. In this tradition, it is plucked, dried, and stuffed with gunpowder and then tied to wood for a few days. Then, during the festival, it is lit up and people throw it at each other as part of the ritual. On Wednesday as many as 150 people took part in this ritual in two groups namely Kalgi and Turra. They started firing Hingot at each other and during this, some of them got hurt. The celebrations were stopped soon after and the injured people were taken for treatment.