You will be able to worship the 50-feet-tall Khairatabad Ganesh idol in Hyderabad from 6 am to 11.30 pm from tomorrow till the next 10 days, and the delicious Laddu Prasadam can be delivered at your doorstep if you want to avoid the long queues. That is not all, devotees can also offer puja online at Devaseva.com.
This year, the famous Khairatabad Ganesh idol in Hyderabad, costing up to Rs 1 crore, has been made from clay sourced from Rajasthan and painted with organic colours after the Telangana High Court banned the use of Plaster of Paris. The idol will be called ‘Panchamukhi Lakshmi Maha Ganapati’.
The 68-year-old Ganesh festival in Hyderabad will start from August 31 to September 9. On the 11th day, the massive idol will be immersed in Hussainsagar lake with the help of cranes.
Sandeep Raj, joint secretary of the Ganesh Puja Utsav, told News18: “We started making the idol on June 10 and finished it in two months. C Rajendran, a Tamil artisan settled in Hyderabad, designed the idol with the help of clay artiste, Joga Rao, from Odisha.
Lord Ganesha is flanked by idols of Subramanya Swamy on one side and Goddess Gayathri Devi on the other. It was made with the help of donations received from devotees all over the world.”
Raj said the cost doubled this year due to the increase in prices of clay and steel.
The Sri Ganesh Utsav Committee of Khairatabad was founded by S Sankarayya, a freedom fighter, in 1954. The committee was formed following the calls given by freedom fighters such as Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Since then, the tradition has been kept alive by members of family and committee. From a one-foot idol to 61-feet during one of the years, the height of the idol has increased over the years.
It’s not only the idol, which is known for its massive proportions, the Khairatabad Ganesh Laddu Prasadam can weigh tonnes. For many years, the Laddu was supplied by Malli Babu, a sweet-maker from Andhra Pradesh. The laddu, made Tapeswaram village in East Godavari district, was famously called the ‘Tapeswaram Laddu’.
In 2015, the sweet-maker offered Laddu weighing 6 tonne. However, managing the crowd became a Herculean task that year, and the committee started sourcing Laddus from local vendors. After a gap of six years, Malli Babu sent a Laddu weighing 100 kg last year.
“This year, a devotee has offered to send a Laddu weighing 1 tonne. The sweet will be kept at the feet of Lord Ganesha and then distributed among devotees,” added Sandeep Raj.
In a new move this year, the committee has tied up with city-based start-up Deva Seva for delivering Laddu Prasadam at the doorstep.
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