Fingers crossed for a sunny Puja

KOLKATA: If you are planning to finish the last lap of Puja shopping over the next few days, don't forget to pack an umbrella. The Met has predicted rainfall till Wednesday. It is too early to say if it will be a wet Puja. But keep your fingers crossed.
In the next 24 hours, Kolkata and adjoining districts will get heavy to very heavy rain triggered by low pressure that is hovering over the northern Bay of Bengal.Though the low pressure is unlikely to develop into a depression, it will gain speed once it reaches the land to move towards Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Till then there is no respite from the showers, the Met said.
"Rain will continue till Wednesday. The intensity may lessen gradually and the weather might start improving from Wednesday onwards. But this will depend on how soon the low pressure moves away," said GK Das, meteorologist with Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata.
"We are expecting this low pressure to cross over to land from the bay by Wednesday. Once this happens, it will move faster towards and cross over to adjoining Odisha and Chhattisgarh. We have to wait for this development to see an improvement in weather conditions," explained Das.
The intermittent rainfall during the weekend continued on Monday, making it difficult for people to shop and Puja organizers to work on pandals. The overcast sky even prevented some shoppers from stepping out of the house. "When I woke up in the morning, I was worried at the overcast weather conditions. With no improvement in sight, I had to drop my plan of shopping. Hope the weather gets better by Wednesday. I have lots of shopping left to do," said Piyali Das, homemaker from Ultadanga.
The question whether rain will spoil Puja plans remained unanswered. Under normal conditions, the rain retreats between October 10 to 12. The Met office said that it was too early to predict the weather during the Pujas. But with the five-day festivity beginning from October 10, chances of rain ruining the revelry can't be ruled out.
With Bengal's biggest festival round the corner every Kolkatan must be having one prayer to on their lips, prayer to the rain Gods to keep the rain at bay. But this piece of prediction from the Met office might dampen the spirit of many specially those who are planning for the last lap of puja shopping. According to weatherman the city will continue to get rain at least till Wednesday.
The Met office has warned heavy to very heavy rain in Gangetic West Bengal during the next 24 hours. Blame on the low pressure that is hovering over the northern Bay of Bengal. Though the low pressure is unlikely to develop into a depression, it will continue to trigger rain until it moves away exiting towards Orissa and Chhatisgarh.
"Rain activity will continue on Wednesday. However the intensity might be lesser gradually and the weather might start improving from Wednesday onwards. But this will depend on how soon the low pressure moves away," said GK Das meteorologist with Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata.
A cyclonic circulation that had developed over the northern Bay of Bengal few days back intensified into low pressure by Saturday leading to intermittent rain for the past two days. This low pressure is moving towards in the westerly direction but at a snail's pace. According to Met office it will gain speed once it reaches the land to cross over towards Orissa and Chhatisgarh. Till then it will continue to trigger rain.
"We are expecting this low pressure to cross over to land from the bay by Wednesday. Once this happens it will move faster towards and cross over to adjoining Orissa and Chhatisgarh. We have to wait for this development to see an improvement in the weather," explained Das.
Under normal conditions October 10 to 12 is considered as the date for the rains to retreat from this region. Met office said that it was too early to predict the weather during the pujas. However the five day festivity begins from October 10 and therefore chances of the rain ruining the revelry can not be ruled out.
"When I woke up in the morning I was worried at the overcast sky as I had plans to go out shopping. I ultimately dropped the plan. Hope it gets better by Wednesday. I have lots of shopping left," said Piyali Das, homemaker from Ultadanga.