Hyderabad Ganesha to stand tall and defy court order, say organisers

Defying the court order and police instructions on reducing the height of their Ganesh statue, Khairatabad Ganesh Utsava Samiti today commenced the work to erect the tallest Ganesh statue in the state today. 

The Ganesh Utsava Samiti decided to build the statue with a height of 58 feet against the 20-feet restriction imposed by the police.

Khairatabad BJP MLA Chintala Ramachandra Reddy performed the Karra (stick) Puja inaugurating the construction of the statue.  Local municipal corporator Vijaya Reddy also performed a puja.

Hundreds of devotees participated in the function organised on Thursday at 5 pm. The Khairatabad Ganesh statue is known for its height and grandeur.  It is one of the tallest festival statues erected during Ganesh Chaturthi in India.

We have received calls from around the world against scaling down the height. People are opposed to the idea of reducing the size of Lord Ganesh. Last year's height was 58 feet. This year, it should be 58 feet. No cut is allowed come what may

But the TRS government, especially municipal minister KT Ramarao, is all for reducing the size of the statue to less than 20 feet in the interest of the public and environment.

The statue is usually immersed in the nearby Hussain Sagar Lake in the heart of the city. As the TRS government is keen on reviving the lake to its original glory, it has decided to restrict the Ganesh immersions also. One such step is cutting the height of all statues erected for the Ganesh Chaturthi to less than 20 feet.

 While the Court some time back suggested a height of 15 feet, police pegged it at 17 feet. The controversy even delayed the starting of the work on the statue, which normally commences on June 1.

The Bhagyanagar Utsava Samiti and local BJP are totally opposed to cut the size through court order or police instructions.

“The height of the statue reached 60 feet as per the tradition. So, the height should be scaled down gradually, not overnight," said Sudarshan, president of Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsava Samiti.

The history of Khairatabad Ganesh dates back to 1953 when it began as a small statue. Later, the organisers of the Ganesh festival in the region started increasing the height of the statue a foot every year and in 2013, its 60th anniversary was celebrated.

And the committee decided to reduce the height a foot a year. So it will take about 40 years to reach the height suggested by the court or police.

The Khairatabad statue is the prime attraction of the Hyderabad Ganesh festival. Lakhs of devotees visit the God during festival time. Its procession to the Hussain Sagar is highlight of the festival and marks the grand finale of the celebration.

The organizers believe that it was this statue that globalised Hyderabad rather than any other achievement of the capital of Telangana.

"We have received calls from around the world against scaling down the height. People are opposed to the idea of reducing the size of Lord Ganesh. Last year's height was 58 feet. This year, it should be 58 feet. No cut is allowed come what may," Sudarshan said after launching of the work on the canopy which will shelter the statue.

According to Sudarshan, this is a matter of religion and faith and government has no business to interfere. Vijaya Reddy, a local corporator, who incidentally belongs to TRS, is also of the opinion that the height of the statue won't create any problem either to environment or to state of law and order.

"This is a religious matter and wish of the lakhs of devotees," she told media.

Khairatabab BJP MLA Ramanchandra Reddy wondered as to how the government takes a decision that hurts the sentiments of Hindus on the pretext environment protection. “When the local people have no issue in the height of the statue, why is it that government is keen on restricting the height of the statue," he asked.

There has been no trouble whatsoever till this evening either from the government or police or the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, which is the authority controlling the lakes of the city.