Ravana effigies bend, Durga pandals see thinned crowds as rain lashes Delhi

New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) Towering Ravana effigies that were being readied for Dussehra celebrations in parts of the city stood bent and battered on Tuesday evening as heavy showers drenched the national capital on Maha Ashtami (eighth day) on Navratri.

The heavy rain triggered traffic snarls, flooding underpasses and leaving thousands of commuters stranded on key stretches.

In Titarpur, waterlogged roads and heavy downpour led to soaked effigies. Videos shared on social media showed materials peeling off Ravan's effigies lying on the footpath as volunteers tried to salvage what remained of them.

Near the Rajouri Garden area, the Ravan effigy looked like a collapsing giant, its soaked face sagging and wooden frames bending under the weight of water.

Arjun Kumar, president of the Luv Kush Ramleela Committee, said, "Our effigies have got a little wet due to the sudden and unprecedented rainfall, as all three of them were kept outside due to their tall height. We will have to get them repaired tomorrow." "We were going to start setting up our Ravana effigy right now but due to heavy rains, we had to postpone. Thankfully, we didn't start early or else there would have been huge losses," said Ravi Jain, press secretary of Shri Ram Dharmik Leela Committee.

Durga Puja organisers, too, were forced to deal with the sudden change in weather as the unexpected rain left the pandals with thinner-than-usual crowds.

At the B Block Puja Ground, the downpour left patches of mud inside the pandal. "We had taken precautionary measures while planning, so there was no major issue. But we did see a reduction in footfall today," said president Amit Roy.

In Kashmere Gate, traffic snarls and waterlogging kept devotees from reaching pandals on time. "Areas like Geeta Colony and Kashmere Gate had massive waterlogging. Many devotees came in very late for the puja after being stuck in traffic for hours," said joint secretary Shankho Mita.

In CR Park, the Kali Mandir Society's permanent pandal escaped serious damage. "We too were taken aback by the rain but did not face major issues. As the prime minister was scheduled to visit, authorities had taken control of the area," said vice president Prodip Ganguly.

For commuters, the festive rush turned into an ordeal, with vehicles crawling through flooded stretches and visibility dipping sharply during the evening downpour.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for the national capital, upgrading it from yellow, warning of moderate to heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds reaching up to 40 kmph.

The downpour came less than a week after the southwest monsoon officially withdrew from Delhi on September 24, marking the earliest retreat since 2002. PTI SGV SHB SGV KSS KSS