Artist in Assam creates Durga idol with expired medicines, injection vials

Dhubri, October 23

With the COVID-19 pandemic having brought the world to its knees, a 37-year-old Assam government employee, in solidarity with everyone fighting the global menace, has created a Durga idol here with strips of expired tablets, capsules and injection vials.

Sanjib Basak, an employee of Dhubri district administration, has, over the past few years, come up with various innovative and eco-friendly ideas to design the idol, but this year, amid the COVID-19 crisis, he wanted to make a difference with his creation.

“During lockdown, I had observed that people were queuing up outside pharmaceutical shops to buy essential medicines in bulk. It was then the idea struck me that I could be making Maa Durga’s idol with medicine strips to mark the pandemic,” Basak, who had last year made the figurine with discarded electric wires, told PTI.

It took the district official nearly five months and 40,000 strips of tablets, capsules and injection vials of different colours to give shape to his idea.

“Initially, I was worried that I won’t be able to make the idol this year due to work pressure and strict safety protocols. But I managed to create one with expired medicines.

“Paper, thermocol and board, among other things, were used to fix the medicine strips to a frame and create the idol,” Basak added. PTI