VIJAYAWADA: Artisans who have been traditionally involved in making idols for Vinayaka Chavithi are left in a dilemma as there is an ambiguity whether the government will permit pandals for the festival to be celebrated in September. Be it Gangur, Kanuru, Enikepadu, Nunna and Vidyadharapuram, workshops of the idol makers wears a deserted look. Several say they are debt-ridden and are finding it difficult to meet their daily needs. Almost 40 families from Rajasthan and Maharashtra, who have been living in Vijayawada for almost two decades, are dependent on idol-making for their livelihood.
A Mahesh, an artisan who has a workshop at Nunna mango market, told TNIE said he started making frames of moulds for the idols to be made only 2-6 feet tall as making gigantic idols is not possible anymore for this season. A majority of the idols that were made last year were stored in godowns.
“We didn’t receive any communication from the authorities over the idol height. So we voluntarily decided to confine the height to 6 feet due to uncertainty prevailing over the celebrations by the festival committees,” said.
Rakesh Jain, another idol maker from Rajasthan, said a majority of his workforce and fellow artisans have gone back home to Karauli district of the State. Despite knowing that the business this season may face losses, Rakesh obtained a loan of Rs 30,000 for a higher interest rate to begin making Ganesha idols.
“Usually by this time, organisers of festival committees start visiting the workshops to inquire about the prices of idols, and business is in full swing. But this season too, none of them have approached us so far.”
“Despite several odds, we are making the idols without considering any profit or losses as we don’t have any other alternative livelihood. The government should give us clarity over the permissions for conducting the festivities as it is a herculean task to procure raw materials like coir, plaster of paris (PoP) and similar items from Gujarat and Kerala,” he added. Meanwhile, city police commissioner B Sreenivasulu told TNIE so far they have not taken any decision on issuing permission to the festival committees.