Telugu States Deck Up for Ganesh Festivities From Monday; Grand Idols Ready

Hyderabad: Ganesh Chaturthi festivities are set to begin on Monday across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, especially in major cities like Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, with temples and Ganesh pandals decked up to welcome devotees for the two-week-long celebrations.

Temples across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also making arrangements for special rituals during the celebrations. Priests at the Shakthi Ganapathi Temple in Hyderabad, speaking with Deccan Chronicle, said that Abhishekams, Ganapati Homam and other traditional rituals will be conducted over the 12 days.

The annual Brahmotsavams will begin at the Kanipakam Sri Varasiddi Vinayaka Swamy Temple in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh on September 14 and will continue till October 4.

At the iconic Khairatabad Panchamukha Sankatahara Maha Ganapati pandal, workers were busy completing painting and varnish works on Saturday, and removed the wooden logs and temporary supports placed around the idol during its construction. The finishing works are being carried out ahead of the formal puja, which will begin on Monday.

Though the main puja is scheduled to start on Monday, hundreds of devotees have already started visiting the Ganesha idol on Sunday. People were seen gathering at the venue to have a glimpse of the deity and offer their prayers ahead of the formal commencement of the festivities.

On Monday, Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla will offer special prayers at the Khairatabad Ganesh at 11.30 am, and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is expected to offer prayers.

Ganesh pandals in several parts of the city have also been decorated and are ready for the celebrations. Organisers are planning cultural, communal and devotional programmes along with Annadanam, where free meals will be served to devotees and visitors.

In AP’s Gajuwaka, the industrial suburb of Visakhapatnam, which has been stealing a march over Khairatabad since 2016 by hosting the tallest Ganesha idol in two Telugu states, will have the 117 feet tall idol.

Organiser Kosireddy Ganesh Kumar said the framework for the massive idol was made using around 400 bamboo poles and covered with special mud brought from a pond in Anakapalli.

The star attraction in Vijayawada is the 72-foot Chamukha Varasiddhi Maha Ganapathi idol, which is installed by the Doondi Ganesh Seva Samithi at Vidyadharapuram in Vijayawada.

Similarly, the Manginapudi beach in Machilipatnam is expected to attract a large number of devotees over the next 10 days to visit the 63-foot Maha Ganapati idol. The organisers are planning to organise such celebrations every year.