99-ft eco-friendly clay Ganesh idol installed in Guntur

The Amaravati Maha Ganapathi Utsava Committee has installed a 99-ft clay idol of Lord Ganesha on the Inner Ring Road in Guntur.

Committee chairman Manukonda Narendra Reddy said the eco-friendly idol, named ‘Amaravati Maha Trimukha Naga Vigneshwara,’ was sculpted entirely out of sacred clay brought from the Ganga by artisans from Kolkata and other places. It took them a month to complete the idol.

Pujas akin to those held at the famed Kanipakam Varasiddhi Vinayaka temple would be conducted for the idol daily for 21 days, the organisers said, urging devotees to participate in them. Special arrangements, including stalls and a giant laddu prepared in Tapeswaram, have been made.

Mr. Narendra Reddy said registered devotees would be given clay along with a Tulasi sapling after the immersion; the registration would open on Saturday (August 30). The idol would be immersed locally using specially arranged fire canons. Water from the seven sacred rivers would be mixed for immersion, he added.

“This is the first time such clay idol has been installed in Guntur, and the overwhelming response from the public shows how deeply people cherish this tradition,” he said.