Kolkata, Sep 25 (IANS) A minor fire broke out at prominent Chetla Agrani Durga puja pandal in Kolkata on Thursday following which the pavilion has been closed for visitors for the day.

One of the major crowd-pullers during Durga puja, Chetla Agrani puja, is conducted by West Bengal Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim.

It has not been announced yet when it will be opened for the public.

However, it not clear what caused the fire there and how it broke out.

However, the fire has been brought under control after five fire engines rushed to the spot.

In a social media post, the Chetla Agrani Club said, “Due to an unprecedented accident, our Chetla Agrani Club Pandal will be closed today. We will update shortly when it will be open for devotees and visitors. We regret the inconvenience caused.”

This year, the theme of this puja is ‘In Search of Amritkumbh’, which is a special tribute to the birth centenary of late Bengali writer Samaresh Basu.

This time, the puja mandap of Chetla Agrani has been decorated with ‘Rudraksha’.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the mandap following which the mandap was opened for visitors on the same day.

The incident, however, dampened the festive mood of the people, who had lined up to visit the mandap.

A month’s worth of rain in just five hours on Tuesday, combined with a high tide in river Hooghly during the heaviest rainfall period, resulted in widespread waterlogging across the city.

Nearly 10 people were electrocuted in West Bengal, including eight in Kolkata.

Train services and metro services were disrupted while traffic in Kolkata were completely paralysed as almost every road has been waterlogged.

At the same time, several puja mandaps and pavilions were damaged due to the excessive rain.

It is not clear whether the rain or accumulated water outside the mandap on Wednesday, played any role in today’s incident.

–IANS

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