Standing among broken remains of hundreds of clay idols for im workshop for India‘s Raigad district, sculptor Dilip Mhatre dey struggle to hold back emotions.
Just weeks before Ganesh Chaturthi, one of the biggest religious festivals wey dey honour Hindu deity Ganesha, floods don destroy six months of im work.
The 40-year-old don complete about 500 clay idols of the elephant-headed god, worth around 800,000 rupees ($8,300; £6,200), wey suppose deliver across western state of Maharashtra, where Raigad dey, for coming weeks.
“But the flood wash everything away,” im talk. “We no get idols, no moulds, no raw material. We no know how we go fulfil orders now.”
Mhatre loss na part of wider crisis wey dey unfold for Raigad.
Every year, millions of families and community groups dey install clay idols of Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi before dem immerse am for water at end of celebrations.
Most of those idols dey make for Raigad, where some 20,000 workshops dey produce up to eight million idols each year.
This year, however, floods don damage thousands of idols and hundreds of workshops, dey disrupt supplies and threaten livelihoods of thousands of artisans.
“Around a million Ganesh idols were damaged by heavy rains across the district,” says Sachin Patil, president of Ganesh Murtikar Utkarsh Mandal, an association representing idol makers for the region.
Im talk say around 3,000 idol-making workshops were affected by the rain.
Local authorities don start surveying the damage. Government official Tanaji Shejal tell BBC Marathi say financial assistance go be provided under government rules once assessments don complete.
Heavy monsoon rain na regular feature for Maharashtra, and Raigad sculptors don long learn to protect dia workshops from seasonal flooding. This year, however, the downpour overwhelm dia usual defences.
July get almost as much as 663mm recorded during whole of July last year, according to India weather department. The deluge overwhelm rivers and drainage systems, dey trigger widespread flooding across district.
Sculptors say dem dey use to protect dia workshops by covering dem with plastic sheets and raising idols above ground. But this time, days of torrential rain and strong winds overwhelm those defences as floodwaters rise several feet.
“For past, rainwater go collect for village but never reach workshop area,” says Mhatre. “This time, everything was washed away.”
Many artisans lose not only finished idols but also moulds and raw materials like clay and plaster of Paris, making am impossible to start again.
Making Ganesh idol na labour-intensive process wey involve moulding, casting, sculpting, drying and painting. Even small idol wey dey sell for about $5-$8 fit take up to two weeks to complete. Larger idols for community celebrations fit cost tens of thousands of rupees and take weeks to make.
Idol-making na im family only source of income and don pay for household expenses and im children education for three decades. Now im don force to tell customers say im no fit fulfil dia orders.
“People were disappointed but we simply had no alternative,” im talk, adding say im dey plan to take loan and return customers advance payments.
For many artisans, the damage na irreversible. Most rain-soaked idols no fit sell, dem tell BBC Marathi, and only those with minor damage fit sometimes dry, repair and reuse.
Some workshop owners get insurance, but dem say payouts no likely cover dia losses.
Anita Patil, 53, wey own idol-making workshop for Kalve village, na one of dem. “If actual loss na 1m rupees, insurance payout go maybe be only around 10,000 rupees,” she say. “There are many conditions attached to these policies and getting meaningful compensation is not easy.”
She say floods don throw off dia entire production cycle. “So many of our idols have been soaked that we don’t even know which ones can be salvaged.”
Recovery fit take months or even years for some workshops. Impact likely extend beyond Raigad, with sculptors warning say some international orders fit now delay.
“International demand had already slowed because of the global economy,” says Patil. “Now the floods will delay some overseas orders. We may have to rely on sculptors outside Raigad to fulfil them.”
The floods don force many sculptors to rethink how dem prepare for future monsoons. Some dey plan to install permanent plastic roofing, raise platforms and strengthen barriers, while others say dem go move idols indoors or to higher ground when heavy rain dey forecast.
But those changes go wait. With Ganesh Chaturthi just weeks away, immediate priority na to salvage whatever dem fit and honour customer orders.
Sculptor Mahendra Patil don spend days calling neighbouring workshops for hope of sourcing replacement idols, but say chances dey slim. “With the festival so close, it is impossible to remake the same number of idols,” im talk. “If we cannot source idols from elsewhere, we will have to refund the advance payments.”
Across Raigad, workshops wey submerge only days ago dey slowly return to life. Artists dey dry and repair whatever idols dem fit save, clear debris and try to salvage season wey many fear lost.
Few expect to recover financially anytime soon, but most say abandoning the craft wey don sustain dia families for generations no be option.
