It rained on Delhi’s festive parade. Heavy morning rain lashing the Capital on Friday caused waterlogging across the city and played spoilsport during the festival season in the city. Following 26.2 mm of rain during early hours, the several Durga Puja pandals and Ramlila enclosures were inundated, dampening celebration.
While the commuters in peak morning hours had a tough time on roads, the puja samitis and Ramlila committees claimed to have suffered losses in lakhs due to the downpour. Teams equipped with water pumps for cleaning pandals were pressed into service by organisers. The national Capital recorded 62.6 mm of rain till noon. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to remain 32°C and 23°C respectively
“Rain has certainly damaged our property, decorations and the pandal. Ravana is facing a taxing time since his effigy refuses to stand. The decorations had to be redone, for which we called almost 50 artists to quickly fix the damage. We somehow managed to pump the water out of the ground but had to get nearly 25 trucks of sand to repair the uneven land and cover the pits. The cranes have been there since morning,” said Arjun Kumar, member of the committee.
The weatherman has predicted that the city’s sky will remain cloudy and may receive rain as well. “The sky will remain partly cloudy, more rainfall is expected on Saturday,” an IMD official said. Rajesh Gehlot, organiser of the Dwarka Ramlila and Councillor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) said despite the damage and difficulty, Ramlila celebrations will continue unabated.
“The entire venue was flooded and waterlogged. Pumps were installed to drain water out. Pandals and decorations suffered but we have repaired everything now,” he said, adding that volunteers will be on call 24x7. At Chittaranjan Park, Delhi’s mini Bengal, which has been bustling with the festive spirit, also witnessed morning waterlogging and traffic congestion. “We faced initial hiccups due to rain in the morning as we were preparing bhog. But later we managed to run the show. People began to stream in from noon and by evening this place will be buzzing again,” said Parimal Mukherjee, volunteer at Shiv Mandir.
The Chittaranjan Park (CR Park) Mela Ground Puja, which claims to be the largest in North India, drew streams of visitors during Friday morning prayers that began at noon. “On other days, people thronged the mela in the early hours, but today the crowd trickled in much later,” said Piyush Dasgupta, a committee member of the Chittaranjan Mela Ground.