This Ganesh Chaturthi, idol makers are praying to God for survival

Idol manufacturing units in Nalgonda, Telangana, are struggling to make ends meet as orders for Ganesh idols have taken a major hit this year in view of restrictions on public gatherings amid Coronavirius pandemic.

Nalgonda:This month every year is usually the busiest time for idol makers across the country as preparations for the upcoming festive season are at their peak. Idol manufacturers this time are usually struggling with the “good” problems of last-minute orders, raw material supply, labour crunch etc. But this year is vastly different. The Covid-19 pandemic has cast a shadow on not just festivities but all the business that surrounds them.

Nalgonda district in Telangana is one such hub for idol makers which is missing the hustle and bustle of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival that will fall on 22 August this year. The sentiment in the state is muted and residents are cautious as Telangana has become one of the most affected states in the country with over 82,000 coronavirus cases reported till now.

Amid the pandemic, Sabitha, who migrated from Rajasthan and runs a small-scale idol manufacturing unit in Nalgonda, is struggling to make ends meet as orders for Ganesh idols have taken a hit in view of restrictions on public gatherings.

Sabitha, who runs an idol making unit in Nalgonda, Telangana.

“We took loan to buy material… every year there used to be advance bookings, but there is none this year,” she said. “I have to pay Rs 40,000 rent for this make-shift arrangement where we are making idols… then there are electricity charges, too… making all these payments would be problematic,” she added.

Sabitha, who has switched from her staple diet roti to rice that she gets from the public distribution scheme (PDS) in order to save money, is also worried about her employees. Her unit employs four people who draw a monthly salary of Rs 8,000 each, but now she is not sure of how she would be paying them. “Convincing the employees to stick to the work and wait for orders is turning out to be a major challenge,” she said.

Like Sabitha, Rakesh Kumar had also moved from Rajasthan to Nalgonda with his family to earn his livelihood by making POP (plaster of paris) idols. “I am here in Nalgonda for the last four years. Every year I used to make 300 Ganesh idols, this year I am making just 200. We are being very careful about how much new stock should we make as we are not sure about the demand this season,” he said.

Every year, thousands of idol makers along with their families migrate to various parts of Telangana to set up idol making units.

Not just new orders, workers trying to cash in on last-minute demand are also struggling to source raw material -- like POP, moulds, coir, thermocol, colors, glitters and brushes -- for manufacturing idols.

Idol maker Sakaram, who also hails from Rajasthan, said: “This year, the lockdown has made it very difficult for us to survive. There are no new bookings coming and I don’t know what to do. I request the government if it can help arrange some raw material for us so that we can do some small work and earn our bread and butter.”

States like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana -- which usually witness 10-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations – are avoiding elaborated rituals of setting up pandals this year due to restrained budgets and adherence to safety protocols. On top of it, there are still no clear guidelines in many states on the maximum height allowed for an idol, immersion points and the number of persons allowed at a pandal, which is leading to holding back of orders for Ganesh idols.

(ETV Bharat Report)