India’s Ganesh idol makers count the cost of devastating floods

"Around a million Ganesh idols were damaged by heavy rains across the district," says Sachin Patil, president of the Ganesh Murtikar Utkarsh Mandal, an association representing idol makers in the region.

Some plan to install permanent plastic roofing, raise platforms and strengthen barriers, while others say they will move idols indoors or to higher ground when heavy rain is forecast.

Every year, millions of families and community groups install clay idols of Ganesha during Ganesh Chaturthi before immersing them in water at the end of the celebrations.