A large idol of Goddess Kali caught fire early on Thursday morning—hours before it was scheduled for immersion—as some enthusiastic villagers tried to smoke out a nearby beehive ahead of the procession.
The 51-foot idol, installed in the village of Bamhani, nearly 30 kilometers from Jabalpur, caught fire when villagers tried to clear out a colony of honeybees from a nearby tree. Villagers say that they lit torches to scare away the bees to save devotees joining the procession from being stung by the dreaded drones.
Police and the fire tenders rushed to the spot, but the flames had engulfed the pandal and the installed deity, leaving residents of the little hamlet of about 3,000 heartbroken and fearful of the implications of the "bad omen."Devotees in the village have installed the largest idol in the state during Navratri every year since their effort first made headlines seven years ago.Though a video of the idol caught in flames was recorded by some residents and has since gone viral on social media, many in this typical MP village, of about 2,500, claim that the idol remains untouched by the fire.
