VIJAYAWADA: The tallest-ever statue of Lord Ganesh in Vijayawada, now part of the capital region, is being made of clay by Dundee Ganesha Seva Samiti (DGSS).
The 63-foot-tall Natya Ganesha idol, which will be 4 feet taller than that of Khairatabad Ganesh in Hyderabad, will carry a 6,300-kg ‘Laddu’ being made at Tapeswaram.
“We want to make the idol the pride of Andhra Pradesh. Before the bifurcation of the state, people of the entire state were proud of the Khairatabad Ganesh, but now after the bifurcation, people here cannot lay claim to that idol as their own.
Hence, we thought Vijayawada, now part of the new state capital, should have its own highest idol, that to0 an environmental-friendly one and took up the project” said GS Phaniraj, vice-president of DGSS.
The manufacture of the grand idol of Ganesha commenced at the Ghantasala Government College of Music and Dance on July 12 and since then, the artisans have been working round the clock. As much as 30 tonnes of iron and 50 tonnes of clay are being used to make the idol. “The speciality of the idol is that it is a Natya Ganapati and stands on a single foot in a dancing posture.
That is to say, the entire weight of the idol is balanced on that one leg,” he explained. The idol is expected to be ready by September 15 and the giant’ Laddu’ from Tapeswaram will be brought in a grand procession to the venue from Nidamanuru. The giant Natya Ganapati will be surrounded by the idols of Ashta Lakshmis on both sides. The cost of the entire project is estimated to be around Rs 1.2 cr.
Phani Raj said that by making the 63-foot idol with clay, the DGSS was making known to the public its commitment to environmental protection. “We are not using any Plaster of Paris or any chemical. Even the colours used to paint the idol are natural ones,” he added.
Meanwhile, to promote a pollution-free Ganesh Chaturthi festival, the DGSS has also decided to distributed 3,000 clay idols of Ganesha to people free of cost.