The ecological impact on the Hussainsagar Lake is likely to be lower this year during Ganesh immersions as the Telangana High Court’s diktat on immersion of only clay idols is being obeyed. Even the tallest idol, that of Khairatabad Ganesh at 50-feet, has been moulded with clay and painted with water colours. “Except the iron frame inside, the idol is made of clay and organic material. The paints are also water-soluble,” informed Sandeep Raj, the convenor of Ganesh Utsava Samiti.
Incidentally, the cost of the idol has gone up as it is moulded with clay but it will weigh lower than the gypsum idols that has been the norm for decades. “Each bag of clay from Rajasthan is ₹ 470. Gypsum is ₹ 250. The clay is mixed with sand, hay, jute, coir and rice husk. The idol will not be affected even if there is four hours of continuous rain,” informed Sandeep Raj, who has been part of the organising committee for 50 years.
The Khairatabad Ganesh festival celebrations date back from 1954 when a 1-foot idol was installed by Singari Shankariah. Since then, the tradition has continued and the idol’s height has gone on increasing with a 61-foot idol being installed in 2019. In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic raged in the country, the organisers installed a 9-foot idol. But the popularity has kept growing.
