51-foot idol catches fire in Jabalpur district

A large idol of Goddess Kali caught fire on Thursday morning – hours before the scheduled immersion time – as some excited villagers tried to smoke out a nearby beehive before the procession.

The 51-foot idol, installed in Bamhani village, nearly 30 kilometers from Jabalpur, caught fire when villagers tried to drive out a colony of bees from a nearby tree. Villagers say they lit torches to scare away the bees and prevent devotees joining the procession from being stung by the dreaded drones.

Police and firefighters rushed to the scene, but the flames engulfed the pandal and the installed deity, leaving residents of the small village of around 3,000 people heartbroken and afraid of the implications of the “bad omen”. the state’s biggest idol during Navratri every year since his effort made headlines seven years ago. Although a video of the idol caught in flames was recorded by some residents and has since gone viral on social media, many in this typical MP village of around 2,500 claim that the idol remains untouched by the fire.