Pune: With Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations just a few days away, people are in a happy mode as they will celebrate the festival after two years. The beautiful idols of Ganesh dotting the city streets these days are being carved and painted by inmates lodged in the Yerawada Jail. In all, 15 inmates have been imparted training to make 250 beautiful Ganesh idols this year.
Though the inmates are frequently involved in the making of different kinds of items sold in the market every year, this is the first time that they have indulged in the making of Ganesh idols. For this purpose, the authorities had called two inmates from the Nashik Central Jail where Ganesh idols are made by prisoners every year. These two trained the inmates in the Yerwada Jail for over three months, which eventually led to the creation of over 250 idols for sale.
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The idols are carved in several shapes and postures including the Bal Ganesha, Srimanta Dagdusheth Halwai Ganapati, Raja of Lalbagh and Fetawala Ganpati among others. All these idols are made from an environment-friendly material, informed Rani Bhosale, the Superintendent of Police of Yerawada Central Jail.
She informed that the prices of these idols range from Rs 500 to 15,000. The initiative has so far received a positive response with several citizens voluntarily buying the environment-friendly Ganesh idols. SP Bhosale has also appealed to the citizens to buy idols made by the inmates of the Yerawada Jail.
