Vijayawada to Install 72-Foot Eco-Friendly Ganesha Idol for Ganapathi Utsavalu
A 72-foot clay Ganesha idol is being built in Vijayawada using eco-friendly materials to encourage natural idols during the 10-day Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
Vijayawada is preparing to host a 72-foot-tall clay idol of Lord Ganesha as part of the Sri Panchamukha Varasiddhi Maha Ganapathi Utsavalu, with organisers building the towering figure entirely from eco-friendly materials.
The idol is intended to promote the use of natural, environmentally safe idols during the festival season. Members of the Dundi Ganesh Seva Samithi, which is organising the celebrations, said the scale of the installation was deliberate — a demonstration that sustainable choices are possible even for large public displays.
Deepthi, a managing committee member of the samithi, said the idea was to show that if a 72-foot idol could be made in a fully eco-friendly manner, then apartments, streets and individual households could also adopt natural idols for their own observances. She said such celebrations are entirely possible, natural and safe, and do not harm the environment, which she described as the organisation's main objective.
Ganesh Chaturthi, a 10-day Hindu festival marking the birth of Lord Ganesha, begins on Monday, September 14, and the celebrations will run until September 25. The deity is worshipped as the god of wisdom, prosperity and new beginnings.
During the festival, devotees install Ganesha idols at homes and in public spaces, offering prayers and taking part in cultural events. The period concludes with the immersion of the idols.