Rain drives a wedge into puja preparations

CUTTACK: Rain is playing spoilsport delaying decoration and other preparations at puja pandals worrying the organisers. And there will be no relief soon.
The puja committee members said due to incessant rain the progress of erection of the welcome arch, an integral part of the puja celebrations here, has slowed down. Besides, other works like idol-making and whitewashing of the pandals have been affected.
"We started work on erection of welcome arch early this time to ensure timely completion. We will engage additional manpower to complete the decorations," said secretary of Khannagar puja committee Prafulla Sahoo.
Similar is the plight of Chauliaganj puja committee, which is spending around Rs 10 lakh in erecting huge welcome arches around its puja mandap.
"We are a bit worried as the work has got delayed. So far, 50% of the welcome arch should have been complete but we have managed to complete only 30% of the work," said secretary of Chauliaganj puja committee Niranjan Sahoo.
"The welcome arches and decoration at the pandal are our specialty. We are using tarpaulin and taking other precautionary measure to protect the decorations," said Sahoo.
Due to the soggy weather, even the idols at the pandals are not drying properly. "We are using high speed fans and bulbs to dry the idols," said secretary of Ganesh Ghat puja committee Laxmidhar Samal.
"We had planned to beautify the gates fitted with LED lights. But due to rains, we are not able to progress much," said B K Sahoo, a member of puja committee. The rains have also affected the repair work of potholed roads and streetlights.
"The work has got delayed due to the rains but we will complete the work before puja," said CMC commissioner Gyana Das.