Youth association in Hyderabad constructs 72-foot eco-friendly idol of Lord Ganesha ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi

The Youth Association in Nagole highlighted 20 years of following the tradition withan organic, eco-friendly structure built by artisans from West Bengal and Telangana. This year, they have constructed a 72-foot Lord Ganesha idol for Ganesh Chaturthi, taking their celebration to a notch higher.

While talking to ANI, Praneeth, a member of Tiranga Association, said, "This year, we are taking up the Vinayaka Chavithi to the next level by hosting the 72-foot eco-friendly Ganesh idol. We havebeen doing this event for the past 20 years, and in the last 10 years, we have been motivated to make it eco-friendly. Since COVID, we've been increasing the idol size to 9 feet. So, this year also, if you look at the idol, we made it completely eco-friendly; even the pandal where the idol is standing is completely made of wood, and the binding materials used there are also completely organic cloth. So, we are highly motivated toward eco-friendliness, and we build our Ganesh right here."

He continued, "So, it takes 3 months, and our key architect for this is K. Nagesh. He is really an amazing artist. He helps us through our journey of hosting the Vinayaka Chavithi, and there are 21 other artisans who really worked hard to bring this idol to this beautiful stage. These artisans are from West Bengal, and Nagesh is from right here in Telangana. We made this idol with the help of clay. So, we also get the clay from the banks of West Bengal, so that also adds a bit more cultural fusion to our idol."

He further shared that the Ganesh idol will be immersed with the assistance of the Telangana State Fire Department. Following immersion, the materials will be kept for three days so local community members can repurpose them for uses such as Tulsi pots.

Praneeth continued, "And after completion also, we would do the immersion right here with the help of the Telangana State Fire Department. So, we will do the immersion right here in front of all the people, and once the immersion is done, all the materials will be repurposed. In the sense, we leave the materials right here for 3 days, so the local community members can repurpose them to keep it for tulsi pots or any other usage they can use them for."

Ganesh Chaturthi is a 10-day Hindu festival celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Ganesha, who is worshipped as the deity of wisdom, prosperity and new beginnings.

The festival sees devotees install Ganesha idols at homes and public places, followed by prayers and cultural celebrations. The celebrations end with the immersion of the idols. (ANI)