GUWAHATI, Sept 18 - His dream of being the architect of the tallest ever bamboo idol of Durga almost lay shattered yesterday afternoon when strong winds brought down the near-complete structure.
But as support and wishes of the people poured in from across the State, well-known artisan Nuruddin Ahmed began from scratch again, but this time with renewed vigour to erect what could be the world�s tallest bamboo Durga idol.
The 110-foot idol of the Bishnupur Sarbajanin Durga Puja Committee, made completely of bamboo, was left in ruins by yesterday�s storm.
�We had started erecting it around two months back. Almost 80 per cent of the work was complete till yesterday,� Ahmed said.
The storm, however, could not dampen the spirits of the locals and the artisans.
Immediately after the storm was over, local residents trooped in and helped remove the damaged structure. Nearly 5,000 bamboos were used till yesterday, and around 30 per cent of it has been damaged.
Ahmed doubled the number of workers and they worked overnight to complete the base structure by this afternoon.
�We can�t say about the height now. It will depend on various factors, but definitely we�ll target over 82 feet to be in the record books,� Ahmed said. �The current record is held by an idol made at Salt Lake, Kolkata, which is 82-foot tall,� he mentioned, adding that the idol was made with steel rods and other such materials.
The organising committee is in touch with the officials of the Limca Book of Records and Guinness Book of World Records in this regard.
