Freelance art decorator Franklin Raju Paul’s Ganesha sits on a broken branch of a tree at Hindmata, surrounded by submerged vehicles. A resident of Pratiksha Nagar, Sion, the 27-year-old had also found himself in a similar situation this monsoon. "Hindmata gets waterlogged every year. This year, I had to wade through waist-deep water. My bike had to be repaired,” he said. “It gets really difficult for people to commute in case of an emergency,” he added.
The Sion resident took one month to create the scene of the waterlogged Hindmata. “The area connects major parts of the city. What are the authorities waiting for?" he asked.
The Ganesha idol, named as 'Paul cha Raja', was an initiative of his father Raju Paul. "For the last four years, I have been using social causes as a theme for Ganeshotsav. Last year, the theme was the protocols to follow during the pandemic, like wearing a mask and using a sanitizer," added Paul, who won the first prize in a local competition.