Sirsi: Friday believed to be an auspicious day, the Marikambadevi Jatra Gadduge at Sirsi witnessed a large number of devotees thronging in the morning. However, unexpected rains and wind played spoilt sport in the evening.

The wind that began blowing at around 6:00 pm literally shook the Gopura of the Mantapa installed in front of the Jatra Gadduge and this made the devotees panic. Luckily, hundreds of people standing below the Mantapa were shifted to safer places.

The wind also blew away the roofs of a number of make-shift shops set up around the Mantapa and people visiting these stalls had to run to find a place to protect themselves. The things hung in front of the shops too got lost on the streets. The roof of a sweet stall landed on the nearby electric pole and this led to sparks of fire.

The shopkeepers had spent lakhs of rupees to put up these stalls and were expecting some good business that had taken a beating during the Covid period. But the wind rubbed salt on their wounds.

After the wind came heavy rain that lasted for around 15 minutes. This made the fair venue messy. Within no time, the entire picture of the vibrant fair changed.

No amusement

The amusement park set up at the Kotekere, Konanbidki too suffered damage due to wind and rain. More than ten capsules of the giant wheel detached and fell to the ground. As per police, there were no people on the giant wheel and this minimised the damage.

“A similar thing had happened six years back. Rain began lashing all of a sudden and shopkeepers lost their materials. But it is for the first time that such an incident occurred on Friday which sees arrival of a large number of devotees,” said Temple Babudar Jagadish Gowda.