Come this Ganesh Chaturthi, Visakhapatnam will be home to a 77-foot-tall Ganesh idol, placed at Lanka Grounds in Old Gajuwaka. This four-tonne statue was made at Anakapalle, approximately 30 km away from Visakhapatnam city and was transported to the venue. It will be formally unveiled on Monday, at 11.17 a.m. by minister for investments and infrastructure Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Rajya Sabha member T Subbarami Reddy and Chintalapudi MLA Venkataramaiah.
Workers from Visakhapatnam and West Bengal arrived in Anakapalle and began working on it around two months back. The woodwork and scaffolding was under the charge of the Bengali workers, while local artisans, and a few from surrounding villages worked on the outer structure of the statue. A total of 100 workers and artisans have put together this gargantuan figure of Lord Ganesha. The overall cost of the idol is estimated to be around Rs 6 lakh and the pandal has been organised by Dr K Narsinga Rao Foundation (KNRF).
“Last year, the statue was around 40-feet tall and was made entirely of rice. This year too, we have opted for an environment-friendly Ganesh statue,” said J Venkatesh, one of the organisers. “We have not used Plaster of Paris, which is the usual material used to make idols these days. Instead, a mix of wood and clay was employed to mould the figure. The artisans have told me that it sets better with clay than anything else,” he added. The paints too, he informs, is made from natural colours mixed with water.
Various parts of the idol were made at Anakapalle, and then brought to Lanka Grounds for assembling. According to the workers, it took 15 days to put it all together. All finishing touches were over by Sunday, and the decorations were put up soon after.
“They are expecting at least five lakh people to visit the pandal between September 9 and 29. Bandh or no bandh, believers will definitely come,” says P Ramesh, who has been in the idol-making business for 12 years. “The design changes every year, and this time we have a multi-headed serpent, providing shade to Lord Ganesha over his crown and is coiled at his feet,” he said. Unusually, the idol will not be taken anywhere for immersion, but fire engines will spray water on it.
The artisans received great support from locals, despite the Samaikyandhra tension. The aim, according to organisers, is to unite the Telangana and Samaikyandhra agitators and get them to stop fighting.