Rain plays spoilsport amid Durga Puja festivity in Kolkata

Kolkata, Sep 28 (IANS) Sudden rains on Thursday put a dampener on the festive mood in the city and adjoining districts on Mahashtami of the Durga puja festival as thousands of devotees, dressed in their best, ran helter skelter to protect themselves from getting drenched.

As predicted by the Regional Meteorological Centre, dark clouds covered the sky over Kolkata and a brief but heavy downpour started since the afternoon.

Increasing the agony of the revellers, the weather office has forecast more rain and thunderstorm in the evening and at night in Kolkata and Nadia,Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, and East Burdwan districts. Districts like Birbhum, East Midnapore and West Midnapore will receive moderate rain.

"There is no forecast of heavy rain yet. But according to our forecast, the rain will continue tonight and tomorrow. The sky would be generally cloudy for these two days. Also an occasional thunderstorm is likely," an officer from the Met office in Alipore told IANS.

At some places, the puja enthusiasts queued up in front of pandals braving the rain. Umbrellas were out as people wanted to relish every moment of eastern India's most celebrated festival.

The traffic that generally moves slow in the city during the puja days, literally came to a standstill at some points.

"The rain is causing some problems. But it won't be able to dampen our spirit. Goddess Durga comes to us just for four days. There is no way we are going to miss out on anything," a group of teenagers said outside a south Kolkata marquee.