Warangal people choose to celebrate eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi
Warangal: The demand for the clay Ganesh idols has shot up in Warangal city, thanks to the concerted efforts of the environmental activists and voluntary organisations which have been advocating the celebration of the festivals in an eco-friendly manner for several years now. While the small size clay Ganesh idols (eight inches in height) are […]
Warangal: The demand for the clay Ganesh idols has shot up in Warangal city, thanks to the concerted efforts of the environmental activists and voluntary organisations which have been advocating the celebration of the festivals in an eco-friendly manner for several years now.
While the small size clay Ganesh idols (eight inches in height) are sold at between Rs 30 to Rs 150 each, the big idols with about 6.5 feet height are sold at Rs 8,500. However, there has been a shortage of clay Ganesh idols this year.
“For the last several years, we have been installing the clay Ganesh idol in our colony. But we could not get the clay idol this year due to shortage of the idols,” founder president of Sulakshya Seva Samithi, Santhosh Manduva told ‘Telangana Today’.
Santhosh Manduva, who distributed small clay Ganesh idols free of cost for the last six years, has not distributed the idols this year due to personal reasons.
Manjeet Singh, a leading clay Ganesh idol maker in Warangal city, who is known for ornate clay idols, said that they had made nearly 70 idols and sold all of them.
“We have made the idols measuring one-and-half inches tall to 12.5 feet tall. We have sold the tallest clay Ganesh idol for Rs 40,000,” Manjeet said. However, it is learnt that another clay idol maker in Warangal had sold idols at a maximum price of Rs 45,000 to cash in on the scarcity of the clay idols.
“Due to Covid-19, there was no demand last year. But I have sold 80 clay Ganesh idols measuring 5 feet to 6.5 feet. The price of the 5 feet clay idols was Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000, while the 6.5 feet idols fetched Rs 8,500 each. If I had made more idols, I would have sold at least 20 more clay idols,” said Nendunuri Rajender, a potter and an idol maker from Gundla Singaram village near here.
Sources said that many people could not find clay Ganesh idols in the market due to shortage this year.
Several NGOs, voluntary organisations, private chit fund companies and Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) had distributed the clay Ganesh idols free of cost.
“The Vana Seva Society (VSS) along with the Rotary Club of Hanamkonda distributed nearly 500 small-sized clay Ganesh idols at Kaloji junction in Hanamkonda” said founder president of VSS and advocate Potlapally Veerabhadra Rao.
Meanwhile, the GWMC distributed 3,000 clay idols to its sanitation staff and employees on its premises on Thursday, while a private chit fund company also distributed nearly 4,000 small size clay idols.
A total of 1,305 big Ganesh idols were installed in the Warangal Central Zone, which mainly consists of GWMC limits, under Police Commissionerate jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao along with his wife Usha, and Government Chief Whip Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar formally launched the Ganesh Navratri celebrations by offering special prayers to Lord Ganesh at the historic Thousand Pillars Temple here in Hanamkonda on Friday.
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