Hyderabad : With the Ganeshotsav just a few days away, the streets and nooks of Hyderabad looked all decked up as the city preps up for welcoming eco-friendly idols of the deity. Shops are bustling with devotees arriving to check clay Ganesha idols of 4 to 14 feet which do not have any adverse effects on the environment.
The owners of a warehouse said that they have been making clay idols instead of using Plaster of Paris (PoP) for the last 18 years.
"The material used in the making of Ganesh is natural and Eco friendly. We use grass, Sticks, stick powder and Clay and Ganga Clay from Kolkata and Cotton cloth are used in the making. People usually think that they can make big idols only through PoP but we make big idols through Clay also," said Kailash mondal, warehouse owner. He was also seen happy about the increasing tally of sales.
"A lot of people have been showing interest in the eco-friendly Ganesha idols and have a lot of demand. Around 400 pieces of idols are made and 80 per cent of them are booked already. We have a special 'KGF Ganesh' this year and 'End Covid Ganesh' is also available. We have idols ranging from Rs. 100 to Rs 1.5 lakh," he added.
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A buyer also urged the masses to buy eco-friendly idols. "I came to buy a 9 feet eco-friendly Ganesha and urge everyone to buy clay idols as the environment gets spoiled by the PoP idols," said a buyer. Earlier, the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee announced its decision to make the eco-friendly Ganesha idol with organic colours and clay for the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi in 2022. The committee official informed that the Ganesh idol will be 50 feet tall this year.
"Khairatabad Ganesh idol is tallest in our country for Vinayaka Chaturthi procession. In this 68th year, we'll make it 50 feet tall for the first time. It'll have an iron body with mesh, clay and water-based paint," S Sudarshan, Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee Chairman told ANI.
He said that the preparations for Ganesh Chaturthi 2022 have already begun. "The preparation work has already begun after Pooja, three months prior to the Ganesh festival. Khairatabad Ganesh is the biggest idol in the country. During the COVID, two years ago, 20 feet clay Ganesh idol was made. So this time, we are making a 50 feet Ganesh idol made of clay," Sudarshan said.
"According to the Supreme Court and PCB norms, we don't have permission to immerse in the idols made of POP in Hussain Sagar lake. So, for the first time, we are making the idol of clay and we will also take out the procession. The festival is to be celebrated on August 31 and the preparation works have already begun," he added.
G Sandeep Raj, Convenor, Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee said that the making of the Ganesh idol includes an iron body covered with the mesh, then dry grass will be put over to cover and finally, the clay finishing will be done. "The clay is brought from Rajasthan. The paint used is also water paint and it is going to look very beautiful he added. The paints used are water-based, not oil-based," Raj said.
The committee also held a meeting with the Police Commissioner, and GHMC Commissioner about the same. "The Supreme Court ordered not to immerse POP idols and we are following it, according to PCB we have permission to do immersion in Hussain Sagar. The work is going on day and night, the idol will be ready four days before the festival with colours," he added. (ANI)
