Heavy Rains Damage Ganpati Idol Workshops in Thane's Majiwada, Artisans Face Losses in Lakhs

Time of India

a day ago

Thane: As incessant rainfall continued to batter Thane district, traditional Ganpati idol makers in Majiwada bore the brunt of waterlogging and poor drainage, with several workshops reporting significant damage to clay idols and substantial financial losses.
Sachin Narvekar, an artisan whose family has been in the idol-making business for nearly 80-90 years, said his workshop near Lodha Garden suffered severe damage. "Every year the drainage gets choked. When the nallah (drain) gets blocked, water doesn't flow out and instead flows back into our workshops," Narvekar explained.
The flooding damaged 60-70 idols in his unit, with clay idols being the worst affected. "The clay idols (maticha murtya) got completely damaged.
We've suffered losses of around ₹2-3 lakh across three workshops," he said. The traditional clay idols, which require careful handling and proper storage conditions, proved particularly vulnerable to the waterlogging.
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Another artisan reported losses of ₹1.5 lakh after water soaked several idols that were kept at ground level. "Some idols were kept above ground level, but even those got soaked," he said, adding that the annual problem of poor nallah cleaning has persisted this year as well.
"Nallah cleaning wasn't done," he complained.
Milind More, whose grandfather started the business 51 years ago, described how water entered their premises despite being built three feet above road level. "Our house was constructed three feet above ground in 1974 and it has gone down three feet due to road construction, but water still entered because of poor drainage and overflowing gutters in the area," More said.
While his family managed to save most idols, 2-4 pieces were damaged by the flooding.
Former corporator Lawrence D'Souza alleged that builders had narrowed down the nallah ahead, exacerbating the drainage problem. "TMC is responsible for this situation," D'Souza said, pointing to inadequate maintenance and encroachment issues.
The artisans expressed frustration over the lack of administrative support and urged authorities to address the recurring drainage problems. "No one from TMC (Thane Municipal Corporation) or any other administration came to help us," one artisan said.
With no insurance coverage for their products and the festival season approaching, the idol makers are now scrambling to fulfil customer orders while dealing with the financial setback.
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