Ganesh festival: Bengaluru temple uses notes, coins worth Rs 2.56 crore for decorations

The Sri Sathya Ganapathi Temple has used notes and coins to decorate the Ganesh idol and the premises. The temple trustees said that CCTV cameras have been installed in the area for ensuring security.

Bengaluru: The Sri Sathya Ganapathi Temple at Puttenahalli in JP Nagar in Bengaluru has adorned its premises with Indian currency notes and coins worth Rs 2.56 crores.

One can find Rs 500, Rs 200, Rs 100, Rs 50, Rs 20 and Rs 10 denomination banknotes and coins to make creative motifs.

On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, various types of Ganesh idols are installed and worshiped across the city. For the first time in the country, notes and coins worth crores of rupees have been used for decorating the premises and the idol at the Sri Sathya Ganapati temple.

This year, the Shri Sathya Ganapati Shirdi Sai Trust has come up with a new decoration idea to give devotees a chance to worship in an innovative way, giving devotees an opportunity to offer prayers amid a special ambience.

The garlands crisscrossing the temple premises have been made from notes. The Rs 100, 200 and 500 denomination notes have been carved in a manner such that these have donned the appearance of flowers. Similarly coins of Rs 5, 10 and 20 have been used for decorating the accessories of the idol.

Temple trustee, Mohan Raju said, "For the last 11 years, we have been doing different types of 'alankaras'. This time, all the trustees have planned to do it with coins and notes. Notes worth Rs 2.06 crores and coins amounting to Rs 52.50 lakh have been used in the decorations here. Nearly 150 people have been working at the decorations since the last one month. We have deployed adequate security personnel and installed CCTV cameras in the temple premises so as to avoid any untoward incident."

Apart from the decorations, coins have been beautifully arranged to design pictures of Ganesh, the state of Karnataka, Vikram Lander, Chandrayaan and 'Jai Jawaan Jai Kisan' slogans.

Ram Mohan Raju, the trustee of Sri Satya Ganapati Shirdi Trust, said that devotees were very happy to see this decoration. This will remain in place for a week and devotees can come for darshan on any day, he added.