Utsava Samithi To Make Khairtabad Ganesh 58-Feet High Despite HC Advice

Hyderabad: Defying the advice given by Hyderabad High Court to limit the height of Khairtabad Ganesh, the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS) on Wednesday announced that it would go ahead with setting up of 58-feet idol.

BGUS president Bhagwanth Rao calling the restriction only an advisory and not orders said they would go ahead with their tradition of putting up the tallest Ganesh idol in the city.

The Samithi members said that effluents are discharged into Hussainsagar throughout the year but none raise their voice, but for the festival which is celebrated once a year is restrained and several conditions are imposed.

Despite GHMC officials have organized nine lakes for immersion, Samithi members are adamant that they will continue immersion process in Hussainsagar and even exhorted people to continue to do so.

“It is a ritual for people to immerse idols in Hussainsagar. They do this as a sign of unity and integrity. No one can stop us from doing so,” said Rao.

Meanwhile, at a review meeting on Wednesday GHMC commissioner Janardhan Reddy said that to facilitate smooth procession of idol immersion, the civic body will prune trees. However, the move has angered environmentalist calling it as ‘hypocrisy’ which will ridicule government’s ‘Haritha Haram’ programme.

“Ganesh pooja is done with leaves and flowers and if we go around chopping them down to make way for huge idols, it is sheer hypocrisy,” said environmentalist Purushottam Reddy.

GHMC commissioner Janardhan Reddy said that to facilitate smooth procession of idol immersion, the civic body will prune trees. However, the move has angered environmentalist calling it as ‘hypocrisy’ which will ridicule government’s ‘Haritha Haram’ programme

On the other hand GHMC official justified saying that pandal owners are not refraining themselves on height of idols hence they have to cut down trees else they would complaint that civic amenities were not offered.

Meanwhile, BGUS has been advised to complete the immersion process before September 15. “We have been asking them to immerse the idol between September 9 and 13 so others are not inconvenienced,” said an official.