My God… What a commotion!

The raw material price for Ganesh idols have gone up leading to a decrease in demand for it. Clay idols are available but are very expensive. The incessant showers are also worrying the idol makers

Augustin Kurian

The jamboree for the Elephant God will commence on September 9 and the Cyberabad police are geared up to tackle any kind of disruption. C V Anand, Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad, said in a meeting that he expects at least 10,000 Ganesha idols to be immersed in different tanks in Cyberabad commissionerate area. SHOs and ACPs concerned were also instructed to start the process of pre-immersion arrangements well in advance. But on the contrary due to the recent rains and the increase in price of raw materials, the Ganesh Chaturthi fest has not seen much colour so far.

Firstly, this year, you will have to pay more for Ganesha idols. A hike in the price of paint and other materials will work out to a rise of 25-40% in the price of an idol. This season people are not concerned about booking ahead for their idols but as the festival nears, there will be a further hike in the price.

The height of the idols range from 1ft to 12ft. People who keep the idol at home buy the smaller ones. Community pandal organisers go for the 6-7 ft idols which earlier costed around `10,000 and now cost around `15,000.

The hike is due to an increase in transportation and other materials to prepare the idols. “We have orders for both Plaster of Paris (POP) and also clay idols. The price of POP was nearly Rs 150 for a 10 kg sack previously but has now doubled. Same goes with the price of paint. In a bid to propagate eco-friendly idols and save the lakes, this year, many organisers have given up on the POP idols and instead chose to make idols with clay. But clay idols are even more expensive and people are not ready to spend much,” says S Susheel, a Ganesh idol maker from Maula-Ali.

Vis-à-vis pandal organisers are investing in the range of `2 lakh- 10 lakh on clay Ganeshas. “We are not concerned about the money. People should know the ecological side effects of POP and should shift to a more environment friendly one,” shared Sai Krishna, an organiser at KPHB Colony, Kukatpally.

But residents have something else to say, “The number of people coming for Ganesh chanda have increased considerably. A nominal amount a family can provide is not enough for them. They tell us the price has increased and we have to donate. We feel that the festival is being commercialised.”

But pricy and ecological Ganeshas are not the only concerns. Many artisans of the city have their eyes fixed on pouring skies even as their hands move deftly to give shape to the idols.

Areas around Uppal workshops are covered with huge plastic sheets to prevent showers from coming inside. The weather has been a big dampener.

Instead of the usual hustle and bustle during this season, the place is quiet this time broken only by the patter of rain. The incessant showers are worrying them in more ways than one. "We will have to use heaters and even gas flames to dry these idols. This will put an additional burden on us," says a vendor.