Vijayawada's 72-Foot Eco-Friendly Ganesh Idol to Be Dissolved on the Spot

A 72-foot Ganesh idol installed at Sitara Grounds in Vijayawada will not be taken to a river for immersion. Instead, on September 24, the last day of the Ganesh Utsavams, fire tenders will spray the idol with water until it dissolves at the spot where it was built.

The idol, the Sri Panchamukha Varasiddi Maha Ganapathi, stands at Sitara Centre near Vidyadharapuram and has become one of the city's main festival attractions. According to the 11-member Doondi Ganesh Seva Samithi, which has been conducting special pujas, it is among the tallest such idols in the world.

Made of clay and natural colours, the idol was built on site over 60 days. Samithi member D. Subba Rao said around 200 people from Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan and other States worked on the eco-friendly Ganesha, using jute, coir, cloth and clay. The immersion will be performed in the same grounds where it was created.

The Samithi has been offering Kumkuma Archana, Deeparadhana, Pancha Haratulu and other special pujas to the Panchamukha Varasiddi Maha Ganapathi. Cultural programmes and bhajans were arranged at the ground during the utsavams, and members described the public's cooperation as overwhelming.

On the final day, a laddu auction will be held, followed by the immersion amid thousands of devotees. A thousand women devotees are expected to perform puja and offer a special harati, Subba Rao said. Another Samithi member, Arun, confirmed that the Nimajjanam will be carried out by spraying water on the idol from fire tenders.