Hyderabad: Solapur Ganesh hits local artisans hard

Hyderabad: As the Ganesh idols manufactured in Maharashtra hit the Hyderabad market, the local idol makers are struggling to encash the festive business this year. They lamented that orders from locals for idols have gone down. According to the local idol makers of Dhoolpet, compared to the last few years this year, idols from Solapur and Nagpur have sprouted up in every nook and corner of the city. Due to this local artisans who have been crafting the idols for many decades are facing hardship. Earlier the streets of Dhoolpet would be flooded with people buying idols one month prior to the festival but this year the streets are deserted, and the artisans have hardly received 50 per cent of orders.

Kailash Singh Hazaris, president for Telangana Ganesh Idol Artisans Welfare Association, said, “Every year we artisans patiently wait for Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja, as only during this span we earn profits, but this year was very disappointing to us, hardly 20 days left for festivals, by this time, we would be full with orders. Every year idols are been transported from Maharashtra but many traders have started stocking up the idols which has affected our business. Compared to local idols, other State idols are more expensive, 2 ft Ganesh idols start from Rs 5000, and our local idols cost Rs 1000-2000. Last year we had the same problem but not as extreme as this year.

As Solapur and Nagpur idols are more attractive people are opting to buy those, but they forget about the hard work locals have done to make the idols.”

“At my workshop idols are stocked up and we are eagerly waiting for customers to buy them. For the past 40 years, I have been crafting the idols, and local idol makers should be recognised but instead, people opt to buy idols from other States.

Though we are dependent on the idol business the State government has never given us any benefit,” said Krishna Singh, another idol maker.