Rain-Hit Maharashtra Ganesha Icon Makers Suffer Huge Losses

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Rain-Hit Maharashtra Ganesha Icon Makers Suffer Huge Losses

from: news.webindia123.com

 

MUMBAI, INDIA, August 2, 2005: Makers of Lord Ganesh icons have suffered huge

losses in the wake of the heavy rains and flooding that have hit most parts of

Maharashtra, specifically India's commercial capital Mumbai. With Ganesh

Chaturthi, the festival held in honour of Lord Ganesh round the corner, this

natural calamity of the past week has resulted in untold damages, as several

icons of elephant-headed God have been washed away by the swirling waters.

Artisans across Maharashtra supply at least 10,000 icons for the Ganesh

Chaturthi festival, which is celebrated with pomp in the city every year. Icon

makers now say that they are not in a position to take new orders as the old

ones have to be redone. "Our production is severely hit. All the orders have

been cancelled. The government should come forward to help us," said Ramesh

Rawle, an icon maker. The artisans begin preparation for the festival, to be

held on September 7, ten months in advance in tune wit h the bookings. This

year, the heavy rains have not only reduced the profit margins of icon makers,

but many small-time workers will have to spend from their own pockets to

complete the orders.

 

"I have suffered losses of more than US$1,150. All the factories have been

submerged and icons have been damaged. We will have to repair it all over

again. But we don't have time," said Kishore Panchal, another icon maker. Most

of the icon-making units, mostly set up in the suburban areas do not have

insurance cover, which makes them vulnerable every monsoon season.

 

The icons of elephant-head god, Lord Ganesh, who make a majestic entry in the

metropolis of Mumbai on Ganesh Chaturthi, are made by proficient artists of the

city who toil for months to see their creations take a magnificent shape. These

marvelous figures shaped by artists are so beautiful that they enthrall not

only the devotees of the Lord but everyone who takes a glance at them.