Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): The statue-makers are worried, because the district administration is yet to issue guidelines for celebrating the ensuing Ganesh festival and the upcoming Durga Puja.
Jabalpur is a home to idol-makers. People from the city, as well as from different parts of the state, come here to buy the statues.
The sculptors of the Jabalpur district are in a major financial problem, since their business has taken a nosedive because of the lockdown.
The administration has banned celebration of any festival in the past two years.
As a result, the sculptors in Jabalpur have lost their earnings.
A statue-maker Meera Chakraborty has told Free Press that they have been in dire straits for the past two years, because of the corona-induced lockdown.
As the number of covid-19 cases has declined, they expect to make a few pittances to manage their livelihood, she said.
Nevertheless, the district administration’s failure to issue guidelines on whether the ensuing Ganesh Festival will be celebrated in a usual way or not has put them in a dilemma.
Therefore, they have yet to receive orders for idols from various Ganesh festival committees in the city and from other places, she said.
Meanwhile, sculptors are making small idols, but they do not know whether they will be able to sell them, she further said.
Another idol-maker Shraddha said that the district administration should issue a clear-cut order for celebration of the ensuing festivals, Chakraborty added.
