Ghaziabad waterlogging after heavy rain disrupted Ramleela performances and left audiences without seating at two grounds in the Trans Hindon area on Thursday, while organisers at another venue created a temporary raised platform to continue the programme.
At the Ramleela ground in Vasundhara Sector 7, water accumulated around the stage, the audience area and the sections used by visitors to enter and leave the venue, according to organisers cited by Live Hindustan – NCR. The rainfall also affected the arrangements for spectators who had come to watch the performance.
Members of the Prachin Sankatmochan Shri Hanuman Mandir Dharmik Ramleela Committee arranged for water to be removed from the ground and prepared the stage for the performance. However, the audience seating could not be restored in time. The committee therefore shared a YouTube live link with visitors, allowing them to watch the performance from their homes.
Committee media in-charge Amit Kishore said arrangements for spectators would be completed if there was no rain on Friday. The organisers’ response allowed the performance to take place, but the waterlogging meant that the public-facing part of the event could not operate as planned.
A similar problem was reported at the Ramleela ground in Indrapuram Colony, where a substantial quantity of water remained on the site after the rain. Organiser Satish Bhardwaj said water could not be drained from the ground, prompting the organisers to bring in additional tent material.
To create seating above the water, the organisers placed iron structures on the ground, laid wooden planks over them and covered the surface with mats. The arrangement enabled the Ramleela performance to continue despite the flooded audience area.
The disruption highlights the operational difficulties faced by temporary public venues when heavy rain coincides with scheduled gatherings. In both locations, the immediate challenge was not only protecting the stage but also making the ground usable for movement and seating. At Vasundhara, the solution shifted spectators online; at Indrapuram, organisers improvised a raised surface using available event materials.
The report describes the waterlogging as the second rain-related interruption to Ramleela performances in the area. The incidents also show how organisers, rather than a permanent venue system, had to manage drainage and access problems during the event. The extent of damage to the grounds and the underlying cause of the delayed water removal were not specified in the report.
Organisers at Vasundhara said they would complete the audience arrangements on Friday if rainfall did not return. At Indrapuram Colony, the temporary iron, wooden-plank and mat seating arrangement was used to keep the performance running.
