Kolkata

Heavy showers, water-logged streets and halted construction at a number of marquees is a major concern for many Durga puja organisers in Kolkata as the biggest carnival in this part of the world begins on October 4, Friday. From Knee-deep to ankle-deep water, many big budget marquee orgranisers have been forced to postpone their inauguration till ´panchami´ (October 3).

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre, Alipore, the city and its adjoining districts received 37. 3 mm rainfall over 24 hours till 8. 20 a. m. on Sunday, while intermittent rains continued thereafter, reports IANS.

According to a media report, Durga puja committee organisers in Kolkata have formed rain monitoring sub committees to keep the precautionary measures on standby in case it rains. They have formed WhatsApp groups, which will provide time-to-time update on the weather condition. The organisers have made temporary sheds for devotees outside pandals to prevent any mishap.

Giving an update on the measures taken to tackle possible consequences, the Telengabagan Sarbojanin Durgotsab club secretary Amrita Shaw said, “We are regularly updating ourselves with new solutions based on ideas to tackle the situation. For rain-proofing, we have made layers of tarpaulin sheet under the facade and roof. We know that it makes us prone to fire related accidents but we will take proper steps to tackle fire emergency situation. ”

In North Kolkata, AK Block Association in Salt Lake has decided to use the community hall next to the puja pandal as rain shelter. “We have also kept adequate space inside the pandal to accommodate people and made entry and exit gates extra wide for proper air circulation,” said convener Raja Banik.