No jumbo treat for Khairatabad Ganesh

Khairatabad: The frequent question that the members of the Ganesh Utsav Committee at Khairatabad are asked is about the jumbo laddu. The gigantic laddu, six tonnes in all, used to take a pride of place beside the Lord Ganesha, but for the last two years, it has been conspicuous by its absence.

It may be noted that the laddu used to be transported in a truck from Tapeshwaram in Andhra Pradesh and was prepared by Mallikarjuna Rao alias Malli Babu, the owner of Suruchi Foods. It would take several days to reach the city and take many days to prepare. A delicacy, it was made with the choicest ingredients and pure ghee.

The laddu was a big hit among devotees and many from every nook and corner of the city would savour it. Speaking to the The Hans India, Singari Sudarshan, President, Ganesh Utsav Committee, Khairatabad, said that Malli Babu sponsored jumbo laddu weighing around 500 kg, 5,000 kg (5 tonnes) and 6,000 kg (6 tonnes) for three years but distribution became a problem as every year, the number of devotees is increasing every year.

In 2017, we decided not to have the Jumbo laddu as it was becoming difficult to manage the crowds. The fear of a stampede was there and we felt it is better to do away with it."

Now devotees prepare the small size laddu prasadam and we keep 10 laddus which is in the range of 50 to 300 kg in front of the Ganesh idol and we distribute among the devotees.