Hyderabad: Clay Khairatabad Maha Ganapati to be 50ft tall

Hyderabad: This year the famous Khairatabad Maha Ganapati will be 50ft tall completely made of clay and will provide darshan to devotees in the form of Pancha Mukha Lakshmi Ganapati.

The Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Samithi members released the model of the Maha Ganapati here on Monday. Samithi member Raj Kumar said this year the decision was taken to have Pancha Mukha Lakshmi Ganapati because people have suffered due to Covid. "Having Goddesses Lakshmi would certainly benefit devotees", he added.

He said the decision to have clay idol was taken last year when there were several representations in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling not to immerse idols made with plaster of paris in water bodies.

The samithi member said, along with the 50-foot clay idol, there would be those of Sri Trishakti Maha Gayatri Devi on the left side and Sri Shanmukha Subramaniam Swamy on the right. The organisers are making arrangements by taking up 'karra puja' even as there are still 68 days for the Ganesh Chaturthi. This year the Ganesh Utsav starts from Chaturthi, falling on August 31.

During the previous year the idol was 40 foot tall. The Khairatabad Ganesh idol, one of the most popular in the country, attracts lakhs of devotees during the 11-day festival.

The samithi members brought clay and raw material from Vijayawada. Raj Kumar said the statue-maker, Shilpi Rajendran, has assured the idol would be strong even at 50ft. He said soil has been brought from Rajasthan; it would be mixed with clay. This would ensure there are no cracks on the idol. About 30 tonnes of steel would be used in the idol's preparation.