Hyderabad: The Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS) announced that around 1.4 lakh Ganesh idols will be installed in Hyderabad for this year’s Ganeshutsav. The 10-day festival will begin on September 7 and end with the immersion of the idols on September 17, which is Anant Chaturdashi. As usual, the idols will be immersed at Tank Bund.
BGUS leaders, including president G. Raghava Reddy, secretary Ravinuthala Shashidhar, Kirodimal Narsinghpuria, M. Vaikuntham, and Sri Ram Vyas, shared details of the festival during a press briefing. They highlighted that this year marks the 45th year of the mass celebration by their cultural organization. The festival, which began with just 1,400 idols in the 1980s, has grown significantly, and they now expect 1.4 lakh pandals to be organized across the city.
Raghava Reddy expressed gratitude towards the State government for its cooperation in organizing the festival. He particularly thanked Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for approving free electricity for the pandals. Reddy noted that while previous governments had not responded to their requests for preparatory meetings and free power, the current government has been very supportive, holding several meetings and granting their request for free electricity.
Kirodimal Narsinghpuria, who has been involved with the festival since 1980, emphasized the uniqueness of the event. He mentioned that no other place in the world has a festival like this, where every organization is involved. He also recalled the difficult times in the Old City during the 1980s, saying that the festival played a crucial role in bringing unity to the area.
Ravinuthala Shashidhar added that only a simple intimation to the police is required for the installation of idols. He assured that the Utsav Samithi members would be available 24 hours a day during the ten-day festival at Baheti Bhavan. He also mentioned that two special guests will be attending the mass immersion event.
