Team Herald:
BICHOLIM: The recent floods in Bicholim failed to dampen the enthusiasm of people from Sal in celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi. This, even though the residents are still recovering from the unprecedented hardships they had to face earlier this year.
Floods had recently hit Sal village in Bicholim on August 7 and it had far-reaching consequences that went beyond just loss of property. Even as life is returning to normalcy, the effects of the floods have still not worn off.
“This year we suffered a huge loss and within just a month’s time, we had to prepare for the festivities. Several of our equipments were damaged and even the floor and walls were totally damaged,” added Bhagirathi Parab.
Most of the Sal residents, who were also affected by the flood, had to re-paint the house and it also took them time to remove the sludge that had entered the house.
“Water had entered our house and it had crossed one metre mark in the house. Still most of the walls are wet but we still painted them. The household utensils, rice, flour and almost everything were damaged due to flood and we had no option but to throw them away,” laments Bhagirathi, claiming that only God gave them the power to face this disaster.
This year in spite of floods, his family brought a big Ganesh idol to their house. They feel that with the grace of God, they would overcome any disaster in the future.
Amit Parab, a shopkeeper, is another person whose enthusiasm for Ganesh festivities has not been dampened by the earlier floods. “I lost almost everything in floods as the shop was entirely filled with water but we are celebrating this Chaturthi with great spirit, said Amit.
