Ganesha brings the elusive rain

Festive fervour was marred by incessant rains in the last two days as the city celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi. Huge pandals adorning the Ganesh idols of different sizes were set up in areas across Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Hundreds of devotees performed puja in Ganesh temples and to idols installed at specially decorated pandals erected by various neighbourhood and traders' associations. But what was absent was the large queues at pandals associated with the Ganesha festival. However, the heavy downpour was welcome as the city has big deficit of rainfall

After the bifurcation, this is the first Ganesh Chaturti in the state of Telangana and it shares a lot of significance among locals.

As has been the norm for decades, the 60-feet Khairatabad Ganesh is drawing the attention of every passerby. The gigantic idol took almost three months and 200 artisans at the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee to finish it. A gigantic laddu weighing five thousand kilos is being offered to the Ganesh at the location.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Governor ESL Narasimhan and his wife performed puja to the huge Khairatabad idol.

“May prosperity and happiness flourish across both the states,” prayed the Governor after his visit to the tallest Ganesh idol in the city. Telangana Chief Minister KCR was also seen offering prayers at the location.

"We are very happy to celebrate 60 years of Khairatabad Ganesh. Artists from different villages arrived to complete this task," said Raj Kumar, the organiser of Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu performed rituals at the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) headquarters in Hyderabad. He wished for the welfare and development of people of both the states.

This Ganesh festival has got some mind-boggling figures attached to it. Estimates say that around 5,000 idols have been setup in and around the city for the 10-day festival.

"The campaign is to encourage people to use clay Ganesh idols that do not harm the environment," said Satosh Banpur, director of the campaign, ‘Hyderabad goes green’.

"We always make clay Ganesh idols and this year, we are buying one. I hope everyone will employ eco-friendly idols to save the environment," said Vijaya, a local resident. Elaborate security arrangements have also been put in place to ensure peaceful festivities.