VADODARA, INDIA, August 20, 2006: Ganesh Chaturthi is just round the corner, and it normally indicates the beginning of a very prosperous season for Deity makers in Vadodara. But this year rains have brought more losses than prosperity. The artisans are now fighting against time, working round the clock to repair and remake hundreds of clay statues damaged in recent heavy rains. “The Ganapati festival is coming up but the biggest problem this time is natural calamity. Heavy rains had inundated the region and the water almost touched our knees. Many statues sank in the water. People have incurred huge losses amounting to millions of rupees. Even I have lost a lot. We are upset mentally, too,” said Ashok Ajmeri, a sculptor. More than 250 Deities were damaged in the floods and thousands had to be abandoned mid-way, leading to losses close to millions of rupees to the artisans. Swollen rivers have swamped thousands of villages and towns in parts of the industrialized west of the country.
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