HYDERABAD: The famous Kavadiguda eco-friendly clay Ganesha would don a new look this year as it would now be made of sandalwood, which would come from Sabarimala. Traditionally made of clay, grass and hay, this year’s sandalwood Ganesha would also be shorter from last year’s 65 feet to just 22 feet this year. Sitting atop an elephant, the Ganesha would be coloured using minimal water paints.
“We usually follow the theme of eco-friendly Ganesha. But this year due to the floods ravaging the state of Kerala, and it impacting the passage of pilgrims to Sabrimala where the bridges leading to the temple are still damaged, we wanted to cater to the sentiments of the devotees and decided to bring the famous ‘Gandham’ to the people here,” said P Murali, the organiser.
About 200 kgs of sandalwood powder has been procured for the same which would be crafted by four priests from Sabarimala. These would be bound using over 27 meters of cloth and rope to hold the plastered cloth together. When the idol was made of clay and logs of wood, which made it immovable, it was made to dissolve at the same site using water hose pipes. However this year it would be immersed at the Tank Bund.
PJTSAU produces 20 tonnes of eco-friendly paint for fest Setting a record of its own, the Natural Dye Processing Unit of Prof Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University has produced more than 22 tonnes of eco-friendly paint this year ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi festival. The eco-friendly paint was prepared and sent to the artisans.