The sun shone brightly on Wednesday, but some of Calcutta’s biggest Durga Pujas were still struggling to recover from the scars left by Tuesday morning’s torrential rain. With only 48 hours remaining until Panchami, organisers described the restoration of damaged pandals as a race against time and odds.

The formal inauguration of some Pujas, scheduled on Wednesday, had to be postponed.

The collective hope among organisers was clear: heavy rain must stay away in the coming days.

Paddapukur Youth Association in Bhowanipore was supposed to have been inaugurated by chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday. It has been postponed. Instead, workers were busy removing installations damaged beyond repair.

The pandal is an elevated structure mounted on a swimming pool. The theme this year is inspired by Jal Dharo Jal Bharo, a rainwater harvesting campaign of the state government.

“The pool’s water level kept rising, damaging the base of our pandal. A series of pots, integral to the design of the pandal, were damaged. The paint was washed away. The idols of Durga’s children had to be shifted to prevent further damage,” said a member of the organising committee.

Damaged stalls at the Maniktala Chaltabagan puja on Wednesday The Telegraph

On Wednesday, a suction machine was brought in to drain out the water.

At Tala Barowari, the downpour damaged around 100 decorative lights embedded in the foundation of the crowd holding area of the pandal. A coat of Multani Mitti on the interiors of the pandal also got washed away. “The ground on which our pandal stands has a slope, which allows the water to recede pretty quickly. But Tuesday was different. We had not seen anything like this in several decades,” said organiser Abhishek Bhattacharya.

The organisers of most pujas were glued to updates from the weather office. “Any significant rain will be damaging. We just hope that a washout can be avoided,” said Animesh Chattopadhyay, secretary of Maddox Square Durga Puja.

The entire ground was submerged on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the water had mostly receded, but the ground was full of slush.

A moving Bay system triggered in a few hours from Monday night the heaviest rain Calcutta has received in 40 years. At least 12 persons have died so far, most of them electrocuted.

Ballygunge, which includes Maddox Square, got over 250mm of rain in five hours from midnight. In Met parlance, 60mm or more in 24 hours qualifies as heavy.

A fresh low-pressure area is expected to take shape over the north Bay on Thursday. It will move towards Odisha, the Met office has predicted. Heavy rain is expected in the coastal areas of south Bengal on Saturday.

A Durga Puja pandal at Hatibagan on Wednesday afternoon. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

Panchami (Saturday) and Sashthi (Sunday) are tipped to be rainy in Calcutta.

At Maddox Square, the organisers are banking on sawdust and silver sand to keep the ground in shape.

The inauguration of Deshapriya Park Durga Puja has been pushed to Friday, said organiser Sudipta Kumar.

“No worker turned up on Tuesday. They have come today. An extensive repair job has to be carried out before the finishing touches are lent to the pandal,” Kumar said.

“Our pandal was covered. We were spared much damage. But there is a lot of concern around the rain forecast,” said Saswata Basu of Hatibagan Sarbojanin.

At Chaltabagan Sarbojanin on DL Roy Street, now in its 81st year, the downpour damaged the raised platforms of Kartik and Ganesh idols. The pandal celebrates Bengali language and identity. Installations inspired by Barnaparichay and the evolution of the language have also suffered damages.

“The Durga idol was barely saved. We are not sure what will happen in case of another spell of heavy rain,” said organiser Mausam Mukherjee.