Floods dampen Ganeshotsava spirit at Didupe

Ganesh Chaturthi at Didupe will be a low-key, one-day event this year.

“Ganeshotsava at Didupe so far went on for three-days. The idol of Lord Ganesha was installed on the government primary school campus and was immersed after a grand procession on the third day,” a resident of Didupe informed DH.

In the aftermath of the August 9 floods and landslides, the residents, who are rebuilding their lives, are in no mood to celebrate the festival. Heavy rain witnessed at Didupe on Sunday further dampened the festive spirit.

The villagers are, however, apprehensive of invoking the wrath of divine forces for breaking a convention, and have decided to install the idol of Ganesh on Monday and immerse it on the same day.

Environmentalist and Sahyadri Sanchaya convenor Dinesh Holla told DH that the devastation caused by landslides near Nandikadu was unimaginable. Huge boulders have rolled down from the mountain and landed near houses. The families had seen rocks and finally boulders roll down into the stream which had turned into a river in spate.

“The families say they fear for their lives when it starts raining heavily during the night,” Holla added.