Vijayawada’s 72-foot eco-friendly Ganesh will be washed away where it sits on September 24

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The five-headed Sri Panchamukha Varasiddi Maha Ganapathi idol, 72 feet tall and made of clay, jute, coir and cloth, at Sitara Grounds in Vijayawada, where its Nimajjanam will be held on Thursday. | Photo Credit: K.V.S. Giri

The 72-foot Ganesh idol at Sitara Grounds in Vijayawada will never make the journey to a river. It was built on the spot in 60 days, and on September 24, the last day of the Ganesh Utsavams, fire tenders will spray it with water until it dissolves where it stands.

The Sri Panchamukha Varasiddi Maha Ganapathi idol, installed at Sitara Centre near Vidyadharapuram, has become one of the main attractions of the festival in the city.

Made of clay and natural colours, it is one of the tallest in the world, according to the 11-member Doondi Ganesh Seva Samithi, which has been offering special pujas.

“About 200 people from Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan and other States made the eco-friendly Ganesha. The idol was made of jute, coir, cloth and clay in 60 days in Sitara Grounds, where the immersion will be performed,” said Samithi member D. Subba Rao.

“We are performing ‘Kumkuma Archana’, ‘Deeparadhana’, ‘Pancha Haratulu’ and special pujas to the Panchamukha Varasiddi Maha Ganapathi. Cultural programmes and ‘bhajans’ were arranged in the ground during the utsavams. The cooperation from the public is overwhelming,” the Samithi members said.

“Laddu auction will be done on the last day of the utsavams on September 24, and immersion will be performed in the grounds amid thousands of devotees,” the organisers said.

The Nimajjanam will be done by spraying water on the idol from fire tenders, said another Samithi member, Arun.

A thousand women devotees will perform puja and offer special ‘harati’ on the last day, Mr. Subba Rao said.

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