With Durga Puja and Navratri festivals knocking the door, the delayed withdrawal of south west monsoon could play a spoil sport as central and western parts of India may receive light showers in the coming days. The delayed withdrawal due to a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal has already brought heavy rainfall this season and the complete withdrawal of the monsoon doesn’t seem a possibility at least for another one week. The withdrawal line of southwest monsoon continues to pass through Kalpa (Himachal Pradesh), Hisar (Haryana), Jodhpur (Rajasthan) and Nalia (Gujarat).
With few days remaining for Durga Puja, incessant rain in many parts of the country are now giving sleepless nights to artisans involved in sculpting of idols.Heavy monsoon this year made it difficult for artisans to finish idols on time, especially in Kolkata. The artists are finding it extremely difficult to dry the idols made of clay, hay and bamboo.
Contractors in the national capital have been asked to build water-proof pandals to tackle the problem just in case it rains.Though organisers of various Durga puja Navratra mandals have taken required precautions to tackle sudden rain showers, travelling from one destination to another during the pujas, popularly known as pandal-hopping could be an issue. Organisers in Kolkata as well are apprehensive about the fate of their pandals, which sometimes are as high as 70 ft to 100 ft. Rain has kind of marred the festive mood in Kolkata, which usually bursts with activity a week ahead of the Durga Puja celebrations.
Picture Courtesy: newslivetv.com
