Kolkata Durga Puja organisers worried as heavy rain damages marquees days ahead of festival

Kolkata, Sep 23 (PTI) The heavy overnight rain in Kolkata forced Durga Puja organisers to defer the inauguration of the idols as the calamities wreaked serious damage to marquees that are complete or nearly so, and pushed back the intricate decoration work by artisans.

The downpour – among the heaviest in nearly four decades – led to widespread flooding across Kolkata, including puja marquees.

With four days left for the Durga Puja festivities to begin, the puja organisers are distraught.

Somnath Das, one of the key officials of Santoshpur Lake Pally in south Kolkata, told PTI that the artificial lotus pond created in front of the pandal has been washed away and has to be recreated in two days.

"The replicas of artworks by Bengal School painters like Nandalal Basu, Jamini Roy and Abanindranath Tagore - put up in the pandal courtyard on the pathway to the idol - have been destroyed in the rains. These have been prepared for months with lots of care, and we are not sure how to replace them,” Das said.

Aggravating the problem is the power cut in the area since early Tuesday morning, which prevents any welding work necessary to restore the decoration to its previous form, he added.

"Till the power lines are restored and the accumulated waters in the courtyard are finally pumped out, we cannot start work afresh. We have to embark on work on war footing," he said, adding the pandal has been closed for viewers for the next two days.

Around 15 km away in north Kolkata, the Hatibagan Sarbojonin has also closed down its installations for public viewing for one day, as waters accumulated in the lane adjacent to the pandal causing some damage to the interior decorations.

Puja Committee Secretary Saswata Basu said, "Water accumulated in the pathway has been drained out and if there is no heavy rainfall anymore, we will be able to tide over the crisis in the next one to two days." "Our pandal has come up on a built-up area having roofs protecting the idol and the decoration replicating river ghats with flex, models are all put inside which are intact. But some of the decorative items leading to the marquee in the open have suffered damage and we intend to replace them," he said.

The puja was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on September 20.

Bikash Majumdar, spokesperson of College Square Durga Puja in the central part of the city, said the rains have caused extensive damage to the already completed pandal and its interiors.

The committee pushed back its scheduled inauguration on Wednesday by a day, hoping the calamity does not strike again.

"Our artisans, dhakis (drummers) have been sheltered on the first floor of a nearby building, and we arranged food for them. We hope the situation will not complicate further," he said, adding that the electrical wiring of the pandal and the famous illumination on the waterbody is being checked again.

Somen Dutta, senior functionary of Kashi Bose Lane Puja Committee, said, "While none of our artwork and decoration has been damaged, due to the waterlogging in the lane, some of the bamboo scaffolding erected near the pandal have been damaged and are floating in water. Our volunteers have been at work since midnight to restore the situation." He said the organisers of the award-winning puja are also supplying cooked food to residents of the neighbourhood who come together to celebrate every year as some of their houses have been waterlogged.

Shiv Mandir Sarbojonin Durgotsav spokesperson Partha Ghosh said, "Our work has been completed. And neither the pandal nor the decorations on the way have suffered much damage. However, as the road is waterlogged and people are reeling under the effect, we have decided not to go forward with the inauguration today. If everything goes well, it will be held on Wednesday." BJP Councillor and organiser of Santosh Mitra Square Puja committee Sajal Ghosh said, "By the grace of Maa Durga, our pandal and the decorations did not suffer any damage in the deluge. However, we are keeping our fingers crossed that another heavy downpour does not take place in the coming days." The puja is set to be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on September 26.

Ghosh blamed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the state government for the "abysmal drainage" system, which compounded the problem of puja organisers and the common man.

The Tridhara Sammilani, another destination puja in the city helmed by Trinamool Congress MLA Debashis Kumar, has deferred its inauguration by a day, from Tuesday to Wednesday. PTI SUS NN