HYDERABAD: It is the third year in a row that the god of good beginnings has been denied a real sweet laddu to hold onto. Hyderabad’s tallest Ganesh idol, located in Khairatabad, would yet again be holding a Plaster of Paris laddu instead of a real one.
The sweetest laddu from Tapeshwaram had graced the hands of the tallest Ganesh idol in 2010; however, the popular Ganesh and laddu combination had to be pulled apart due to the difficulty in transporting the laddoo from Tapeshwaram.
However, Raj Kumar Singari, organiser at Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee said that they would be placing a sweet, yet much smaller laddu of 500 kg donated by a merchant from Mehdipatnam in front of the Ganesh idol as consolation.
Meanwhile, Hyderabadis will not be completely deprived of the Tapeshwaram laddu which was popular among the devotees for its semblance to the Tirupati laddu. The makers of the same have teamed up with the Daiva Sannidhanam temple at Film Nagar and would be delivering a laddu weighing 601 kg to the temple.
Unable to pay for laddu, man kills himself
Feeling humiliated over his inability to pay the auction money for Ganesh Laddu from last year, a 25 year-old painter committed suicide by setting himself ablaze using turpentine oil. The incident took place at Moosapet in Kukatpally police limits Tuesday night. The deceased has been identified as V Sai, 25, a resident of Janatha colony. Sub Inspector Bhanu Prasad said that Sai had participated in Ganesh laddu auction last year; he got the laddu for `10,000. As per committee rules, the person who wins the auction has to pay up before the next Ganesh festival. Unable to do so, he committed suicide.