GHMC gears up for Ganesh Chaturthi fete

Civic body takes up road maintenance, eco conservation measures other than steps to follow Covid norms

Hyderabad: With the Vinayaka Chaturthi fast approaching, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has started to gear up for the 10-day festivities which is held annually with pomp and gaiety in the city.

This year, the Ganesh festivities are to commence from September 10 and conclude with idol immersion slated for September 19 coinciding with Anant Chaturdashi.

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The State government has already clarified that there would be no restrictions imposed on the height of the idols to be installed during the festival and that pandal organisers can take a call based on the feasibilities in their locality. For Vinayaka Chaturthi, the government would also be arranging 70,000 clay idols through the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), 50,000 idols through the GHMC apart from another 40,000 through the Endowmnets department.

Meanwhile, the GHMC is drawing up plans to ensure the smooth conduct of the festivities which include civic works where required, environment conservation measures and also steps to make sure Covid-19 guidelines were followed.

The civic works include road restoration, road patch works all along the idol immersion procession route, sanitation near Ganesh pandals, fogging activities near water bodies and illumination.

“Apart from the procession routes, as a part of the routine exercise, other roads will also be maintained and works will be taken up wherever necessary,” said GHMC Chief Engineer of maintenance wing, M Devanand. “As and when we receive representations from the Ganesh Committees pertaining to specific stretches, patch works will be taken up wherever required,” he said.

Meanwhile, as part of environment conservation measures, the civic body has decided to distribute 50,000 clay idols and encourage people to choose the idols made of clay over other materials. Another measure to protect lakes is cleaning the artificial ponds located near water bodies and making them ready by September 10.

In the GHMC limits, there are 21 artificial ponds and most of them are located near water bodies. The civic body personnel will be deployed near these ponds to help people with idol immersion. According to the officials, most of the artificial ponds are about 43×43 is size and adequate depth for idols of up to 8×10 feet to be immersed in them.

As part of the effort to put in place all arrangements for the 10-day festivities, the GHMC Commissioner DS Lokesh Kumar along with officials of line departments, including police, will visit major idol immersion procession routes.

Idol-makers get ample orders

After a dry season last year due to the pandemic, the artists at Dhoolpet have received ample orders this Ganesh festival season. While most idol-makers have closed their books at no profit-no loss, some were able to make a decent profit.

Subhash Singh, owner of Dhruv Singh Kalakar studio, and also the president of Telangana Idol-makers’ Association, said, “We started making the idols early this year and most of our idols have been sold. We received several orders from other districts, especially Warangal, this time. Overall, most of us haven’t made much profit. However, this year wasn’t about profit making. In fact, we didn’t even increase the price of the idols, to encourage more people to come and buy the Ganesha idols from us.”

On the State Government’s decision to not put a restriction on the height of idols to be installed for the Ganesh festivities, Subhash adds, “We welcome it, but it has come a bit too late. The festival starts on September 10, and we do not have enough material left to make bigger idols. People called us for a taller Ganesha, but no one can make them now as there is no time.”