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Pandemic deals severe blow to idol makers in city

By ABINASH KALITA

GUWAHATI, Sept 5 - With most of the puja organisers deciding to scale down the Durga Puja celebrations this time in the city, the idol-makers here are staring at a grim business season. The city-based idol-makers are reeling under the effects of the pandemic with a sharp fall in the demand for idols.

No organisers or individuals have so far placed orders for idols of Durga. The artisans also make idols of Biswakarma, Lord Shiva, Saraswati, Lakshmi, Kali, etc. to meet the demand during the upcoming festive season.

An idol-maker Dipika Pal from Pandu, who has been engaged in the business for the last 20 years, said she is experiencing such a tough time for the first time in her life.

�We earn for the entire year with the income that we make in the festive season. In the past, we received orders for Durga idols from April. But this time, not a single order has been placed yet. I have already invested Rs 1 lakh to get the raw materials for this season, which will be a total loss for me,� she said.

There are 12 idol-makers in the Pandu area.

�The idol-makers from our area bring people mainly from Kolkata as helpers for this puja season every year. However, no such people have come here from Kolkata this time due to the pandemic,� she added.

The idol-makers at the Cycle Factory area said they have remained jobless for nearly six months.

�The pandemic has inflicted a severe blow to our business ahead of the Durga Puja festival. It has hit us at a time when the orders for making Durga idols pour in,� Dipak Dhar, an idol-maker, said.

Well known artisan Nuruddin Ahmed said not a single Durga Puja celebration committee has contacted him yet this time.

�Every year during this season, I was busy at the puja pandals with my 50 helpers. But this time, all my helpers will remain jobless. The helpers are the Assamese youths who mainly hail from Chaygaon, Nalbari and Lakhimpur,� he said.

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