Ganpati mandals in the city suffered damages as yet unfinished pandals bore the brunt of yesterday's thunderous downpour
With the countdown to the arrival of the city’s favourite deity in its last leg, the heavy downpour has left Ganesh mandal organisers’ frowning.
With a fortnight to go, and pandals far from ready, yesterday’s rains have hit preparations hard, even washing away decorations at some places.
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Caught out: Organisers at Lalbaug Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal, Ganesh Galli, are running against time to complete the decor after the heavy rainsdisrupted preparations yesterday.u00a0Pics/Shadab Khan, Sunil Tiwari
Adornment of pandals is considered one of the main attractions of the festival, but incessant rains in the past 24 hours has stalled work.
With work now expected to run behind schedule, mandals are skeptical of finishing their work on time and have the best looking pandals, which will give them top honours in competitions during the 11-day long festival.
Standstill
Organisers at Lalbaug Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal, Ganesh Galli that is replicating the Pashupatinath temple, were a hassled lot, as the construction came to a stand still.
The set needs to be designed perfectly and also needs to be painted, but the paint needs to dry properly, which is not possible due to the moisture in the air.
Swapnil Parab, secretary of the mandal, said, “It did not rain the whole monsoon and, now at the very end, it has started pouring. Our only fear is that our set should be completed appropriately. The painting of the whole pandal has come to a dead stop owing to heavy rains.”
Even Khetwadi 12th Lane Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav mandal’s embellishments to the entrance of their pandal have been halted.
The entrance is a major attraction, according to mandal members, and that needs to be beautified suitably.
“Other work is going on in full swing, but the only issue facing our mandal is that of the entrance gate. Plywood, which is the backbone of the structure, is later painted to give it a better look. But, the painting is impossible in this rain, and this has come as a setback,” said Ranjeet Mathur, a mandal member.
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