On the occassion of this Ganesh Chathurthi, Hyderabad is competing with Mumbai in installing a large number of Ganesh idols. Ganesh Chaturthi pandals will be errected at more than 60,500 locations in the city, where Ganesh idols of different sizes will be installed on Monday. The number this year is five to ten percent more compared to 2012. Eco-friendly clay Ganesh idols are also very popular this year.
The main attraction of the city is naturally the Khairatabad Ganesh idol which measuring 59-feet accompanied by a 4,200 kg laddu. Elaborating on the special features of the huge Ganesh idol, Balkumar, joint secretary, Khairtabad Ganesh Utsav Samithi, mentioned that this year the Ganesh idol is titled ‘Go Naga Chathurmuka Vinayakudu’, and is four-headed. It also has Sri Rama Pata Abhishekam on its right and Shakthi Matha’s idol on its left.
The joint secretary mentioned that the governor of Andhra Pradesh will be performing the first pooja followed by others. In view of the security aspect, CCTV cameras have also been installed at the venue. “Apart from this, there will two hundred policemen, five circle inspectors and a thousand volunteers at the venue”, elaborated Balkumar.
Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS) informed that the Ganesh idols will be uninstalled on September 9 and the mass immersion will be conducted on September 18 on eve of Anantha Chathurdasi. R Shashidhar, secretary of the Samithi, mentioned that this year it will be the 34th Samuhika Nimajanam.
Meanwhile, Shashidhar also said that although the government is promoting the use of eco-friendly colours for Ganesh idols, it has failed to provide the required materials to the idol-makers. “We requested the government for a meeting with all Ganesh idol-makers to discuss about the supply of eco-friendly colours. On September 4, the government said that it is not equipped to provide the colours as it cannot produce the same”, informed Shashidhar.
BGUS also demanded the government to stop spreading false information regarding pollution caused by the immersion of Ganesh idols in different lakes of the city. “Government has failed in protecting the Hussain Sagar lake which is being polluted by the Kukatpally Nala and several other factors,” said Shashidhar. He added that a report by Environment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI), mentions that usage of Plaster of Paris is best in the idol-making as it is easy to extract the idols within 48 hours.