Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to perform 1st puja to 69-ft Bada Ganesh today

HYDERABAD: All arrangements were in place by Sunday evening for the 72nd Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations at Khairatabad, which are set to begin on Monday.

With the wooden scaffolding around the idol removed, this year’s 69-foot Panchamukha Sankatahara Maha Ganapati was revealed, with its five distinct faces. A 15-foot Somnath Jyothirlinga idol and a Kaalika Matha idol have been placed on either side of the main idol.

The entire structure has been made without Plaster of Paris (PoP), using natural clay and hay. The frame was made of steel, while water-based and eco-friendly colours were used for the idols.

Sculptor Chinnaswamy Rajendran, who has been creating the Khairatabad Ganesh idol for the past 40 years, designed and sculpted this year’s idol too. Around 150 workers took nearly three months to complete the structure.

The Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Samithi has invited Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla to perform the first puja, scheduled to be held between 11.20 am and 1.48 pm on Monday. Regular darshan for the public will begin at 6 am on Tuesday and continue until 11 pm.

Temporary stalls have also come up around the pandal, with vendors selling puja items, miniature Ganesh idols and food. With darshan set to begin on Monday, police and organisers expect more than 30 lakh devotees to visit Khairatabad during the festival, from September 14 until the immersion day.

Parking facilities will be available at IMAX Ground, HMDA Lake View Parking, E-Racing Ground, Maktha Parking on Necklace Road and Visvesvaraya Bhavan.

Uninterrupted power supply assured to all pandals in Hyd

Meanwhile, TGSPDCL chairman and managing director Jitesh V Patil on Sunday met representatives of the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee and reviewed power supply, backup systems and emergency arrangements.

He also met local MLA Danam Nagender and reviewed the distribution transformers, alternate power supply and backup facilities around the pandal.

Patil later inspected the power arrangements at Balapur and met Balapur Ganesh Utsav Committee president Kallem Niranjan Reddy and other members.

He assured them of uninterrupted power supply during the festival. A dedicated complaint facility has also been arranged through the 1912 call centre.

CM Prays for removal of obstacles, greets people

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy extended greetings to the people of Telangana on the occasion of Vinayaka Chaturthi. The chief minister prayed to Lord Vigneshwara to remove obstacles from people’s lives and bless them with happiness, prosperity and good health.

He urged people to celebrate the festival with devotion at Ganesh pandals set up across neighbourhoods. Revanth directed the police to make arrangements for smooth traffic movement in Hyderabad and all district headquarters during the festive season.

Officials were also instructed to take precautions at pandals to manage large crowds. The chief minister also recalled that the state government is providing free electricity to Ganesh pandals this year as well.