The Ganesh Utsav Committee has decided to fix the height of the popular Khairathabad Ganesh idol at 56 feet from next year. The committee has the tradition to increase the height of the Ganesh idol every year by one feet and this year it has reached to 56 feet.
Considering different aspects like safety, security, procession and immersion of the idol, the committee planned to continue the same height of 56 feet for the following years.
According to the sources, the main reason for putting the cap on the height is the Sankaraiah building that has been supporting the installation of the idol since 1954. As the height of the building is only 60 feet the committee now has decided to limit the height. The committee also planned not to allow the jumbo laddu (3,500 kg), which is kept on the left palm of the idol from the last two years, keeping in view the height and weight (30 tonnes) of the idol.
The committee also told that though they planned for a clay idol to promote eco-friendly concept, due to immersion issues they withdrew that from the proposal and went back to the old tradition of plaster of paris idol. They also mentioned that this year’s idol would spread the message of peace in the world. The making of the idol has already been started and 80 skilled artisans from West Bengal are working on it, said the sources.
Source: TOI