Hyderabad: A large number of devotees thronged the famous 61-feet-tall Khairatabad Ganesh idol in Hyderabad on Monday.
The deity, known as Dwadashaditya Maha Ganapathi has 12 heads and 24 arms. The organizing committee began the puja around 5 am and the silk clothes were brought to the mandap by taking out a rally from Lakdikapul.
The artist of the idol C Rajendran said 25 tonnes of steel and 15 tonnes of Plaster of Paris and other material were used to make the deity weighing nearly 40 tonnes.
He said Srikanth, a local businessman, offered laddu - a sweetmeat weighing 750 kg to Khairatabad Ganesh this year as well.
Governor ESL Narasimhan and his wife Vimala Narasimhan were the first ones to offer prayers to the Khairatabad Ganesh. It was the last visit as Governor for ESL Narasimhan. The couple has been offering prayers to Khairatabad Ganesh since 2015.
BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya and minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav also visited Khairatabad to offer prayers. "Everything should go well with the blessings of the Lord before taking charge of the office," said Dattatreya adding that he prayed the Lord to promote integrity and culture in the country.
Dattatreya who has been appointed as governor of Himachal Pradesh said that he will assume charge of on September 5, 2019.
Also read: A peek into the lives of these lesser known artists on Ganesh Chaturthi
