Heavy rain in Ghaziabad’s Trans Hindon area disrupted Ramlila performances on Thursday after water accumulated across two community grounds, affecting stages, audience seating and access routes.
At the Ramlila ground in Vasundhara Sector 7, water collected around the stage, the area reserved for spectators and the sections used by visitors to move through the venue, according to the organising committee. Members of the Prachin Sankatmochan Shri Hanuman Mandir Dharmik Ramlila Samiti arranged for the water to be drained and prepared the stage for the performance.
However, the organisers were unable to restore seating arrangements for the audience. Amit Kishore, the committee’s media in-charge, said visitors were given a YouTube live link so they could watch the performance from home. The organisers said arrangements for spectators would be completed on Friday if there was no further rain.
The disruption was the second interruption to Ramlila performances after rain, according to the report. The incident also exposed the difficulty of using open public grounds for large community events when rainwater cannot be cleared quickly from performance, seating and circulation areas.
A similar problem was reported at the Ramlila ground in Indrapuram Colony, where substantial water accumulation prevented organisers from clearing the field. Satish Bhardwaj, one of the organisers, said additional tent material had to be brought in to create an alternative seating arrangement.
The organisers placed iron structures over the water, laid wooden planks on top and covered them with mats so that spectators could sit while the performance continued. The arrangement allowed the programme to proceed despite the waterlogged ground.
The two responses differed according to the conditions at each venue. In Vasundhara, the performance continued after drainage work, but spectators were directed to an online broadcast because seating could not be restored. In Indrapuram Colony, organisers created a temporary raised platform for the audience using locally available event materials.
The report does not specify the volume of rainfall, the agencies responsible for drainage at the grounds or whether any permanent improvement work has been planned. It records, however, that water could not be removed from both venues during the day, leaving community organisers to manage the immediate consequences themselves.
Organisers in Vasundhara said they would complete the arrangements for spectators on Friday if the weather remained dry. The next performance and audience facilities at both grounds will depend on whether the accumulated water can be cleared and the temporary arrangements maintained.
