Girls take cover from the rain in Patna on Monday. Picture by Ashok Sinha

The Monday afternoon shower triggered fears of a wet Durga Puja in the minds of pandal-hoppers but the Met department forecast that most of the remaining Navratri days would be dry.

Cloudy skies over Patna on Monday — the fifth day of Navratri — brought a drizzle for around 10 to 15 minutes. India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its forecast issued from its headquarters in New Delhi, predicted a thunderstorm in the city till Ashtami but only overcast sky on Navami and Vijaya Dashami.

Patna Meteorological Centre director Ashish Sen told The Telegraph: “The weather over most parts of the state is likely to be dry over the remaining days of Navratri. However, localised thundershowers can be witnessed in some parts but they won’t last for long.”

Meanwhile, Puja samitis, big and small across the state capital, swung into action after the rain. They came up with alternatives so as to not compromise with their decoration plans. The changes included modifying the pandal layout to ensure there were no smudgy setbacks and putting extra layers of tarpaulins.

Boring Road Durga Puja Samiti Vyapar Mandal at Boring Canal Road, which has erected a replica of the Thai Temple in Bodhgaya, decided to use tarpaulins on either side of the main pandal in a last-minute change of decision to shelter visitors in case it rains over the next few days.

“Though our pandal was already made with waterproof tent, the rain on Monday afternoon made us realise the need to create a shelter for visitors from the rain. Thus, we have extended the overhead tent to the front and erected a new water-proof tent on either side,” said Umesh Singh, an executive member of the samiti.

Similarly, Shri Durga Puja Samiti Samiti Friends Association, Golghar Chauraha, decided to put an extra layer of waterproof tent as a preventive measure against the rain. “We are putting another layer of water-proof tent over the pandal to prevent leaks,” said a samiti worker.

Normal monsoon

The monsoon (June 1 to September 30) in the state this year would officially conclude on Tuesday, which experienced the highest rainfall in the past three years.

The Met department claimed that monsoon was expected to retreat from Bihar not before October 7 or 8.