Heavy Rain Disrupts Delhi's Dussehra Celebrations, PM Modi and Amit Shah's Events Cancelled

Heavy rainfall disrupted Delhi's Dussehra celebrations on Thursday, soaking Ravan effigies and forcing the cancellation of events scheduled to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Prime Minister Modi was set to participate in the 'Raavan Dahan' organized by the Indraprastha Ramleela Committee, but the sudden downpour led to the event's cancellation. Similarly, Home Minister Shah couldn't attend the planned festivities in Pitampura due to the inclement weather, according to officials.

Suresh Bindal, president of the Indraprastha Ramleela Committee, explained, "The prime minister couldn't attend due to the rain. The showers damaged the effigies, which were later ignited in the presence of Union Minister Harsh Malhotra, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, MLA Arvinder Singh Lovely and others." The celebration ground was completely flooded, he added.

At the Keshav Ramleela Committee's event at DDA Ground in Netaji Subhash Place, Pitampura, the heavy rainfall prevented Amit Shah from attending. BJP National General Secretary Arun Singh stepped in as the chief guest for the effigy burning ceremony.

Ashok Goyal Devaraha, president of the Keshav Ramleela Committee, mentioned they would invite Shah to perform the effigy burning ritual next year.

The downpour was particularly intense in north, northwest, central, and west Delhi. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), by 5:30 pm, Pitampura recorded 17.5 mm of rainfall, Ridge registered 15.4 mm, and Mayur Vihar measured 9.5 mm.

A representative from the Adarsh Ramleela Committee in Ashok Vihar described their struggle to protect the Ravan effigy: "We barely managed to cover it with plastic, but most of it still got drenched. We're trying to ignite the effigy by pouring petrol and diesel on it, but it's not catching fire."

He philosophically added, "This is God's work. Many Ramleela committees are coordinating to find solutions. It feels as if Indra Dev doesn't want Ravan to die by fire this year; he wants him to drown instead."

Anil Garg of Pitampura's Aryan Heritage Foundation shared that over 10 percent of their effigy was soaked despite their efforts to cover it with plastic. "The puja was delayed and there were waterlogging issues. But everything happens because of God's will, and we hope the Dahan goes well with the effigy catching fire properly."

Nitin Gupta, treasurer of the Hanumant Dharmik Ramleela Committee in east Delhi, described the rain as "a huge shock" that delayed their preparations. "A large part of the effigy got drenched, but we managed to salvage the rest by covering it with available plastic sheets. Now we're trying to burn the effigy with petrol, diesel, and other materials so the Dahan proceeds smoothly."