Rain alert leads to tweak in Durga Puja organisers’ plan in Kolkata

The Met office has predicted that the festive days, October 2 to 5, could be rainy

Representational file image

KINSUK BASU | TT  |   28.09.22 : Several puja committees across Kolkata spent the better part of Tuesday planning how to protect their premises from rain.

The Met office has predicted that the festive days, October 2 to 5, could be rainy in Kolkata because of a cyclonic circulation that is likely to take shape over the Bay of Bengal.

“The intensity of the showers will depend on the location of the system and its future course,” G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department in Alipore, had said on Monday.

At Maddox Square, where the adda sessions are set to return after two years, the puja organisers remained busy throughout the day discussing whether a tarpaulin canopy should be set up over what used to be an open ground during the puja in previous years.

The pandal at the Ballygunge puja spreads across 5,000 square feet. “Covering the ground almost double the size of the pandal will pose a challenge,” said an organiser of the Maddox Square puja.

“We will distribute bhog to every visitor in the afternoon on the puja days. To ensure the visitors get to stand under a proper shade and also for the benefit of adda lovers, we are considering putting up a canopy over the open ground,” said Amalendu Sarkar, another member of the organising committee of the puja. “The cost needs to be worked out and we will finalise the plan by Wednesday night.”

At Deshapriya Park, organisers have decided to barricade the wooden platform leading to the pandal’s entry and exit to prevent visitors from stepping on the wet ground if it rains.

“The barricades along the wooden platform will ensure that no one steps on the wet ground while visiting our pandal,” said Sudipta Kumar, secretary of the puja committee.“We are worried that many people may not step out of homes if it rains.”

Covid protocol for the last two years had banned fairs, a restriction that affected the income of many puja organisers.

This time the organisers of the Kumartuli Park puja have decided to cover the ground with a platform so pandal-hoppers don’t face any problem visiting the 30-odd stalls on the ground even if it rains. The plan has been drawn up keeping in the mind the predictions for rain during the Puja, the organisers said.

“We work around the year to find ways how to attract visitors to our pandal and to the fair. If the footfall decreases because of rain, our returns from the stalls will go down. So we have planned to cover the field with a platform,” said Anupam Das, of the Kumartuli Park Sarbojonin Durgostav Committee.