Shivaji, TS formation theme of this year's Ganesha fest: Bhagwant Rao

Hyderabad: The theme for this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations, 350 years of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s enthronement and Telangana formation, will be depicted through popular art forms, said Dr Bhagwant Rao, the general secretary of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsava Samithi.

Sixty-nine-year-old Dr. Rao has been looking after the Samithi’s programmes since its inception in 1980 and has been instrumental in making the Ganesh festival popular and widely celebrated in Hyderabad, second only to Mumbai.

Bhagawant Rao said: “The Samithi’s theme for this year is on 350 years of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s enthronement and Telangana Formation celebrations. The organisers, during the festival celebrations, will showcase the history of Shivaji through street plays, floor folk, and display of pictures.”

Busy in making arrangements for idol immersion, the main event of which is on September 28, said that preparations for the Shobha Yatra are going along well in coordination with government departments, especially the GHMC, and the three police commissionerates.

“There are more than three lakh Ganesh idols which are more than five feet tall across the city. Around one lakh idols will take part in the Shobha Yatra. The main immersion yatra will take place on September 28, starting from Balapur, Chandrayangutta, Falaknuma, Charminar, Afzalgunj, Mozzamjahi Market, and then to Abids, Basheerbagh, Liberty and Tank Bund,” he said.

He said that while the organisation urged political leaders not to put their faces on flexis of the Ganesha festivities, they did not listen to them. “We can spot those flexes all across the city. Authorities are helpless because, against the ruling party, they cannot take any steps. This is a festival celebrated in each and every apartment, street, and office, bringing joy to people,” he said.

Rao also shared his political aspirations, saying he was seeking a BJP ticket from Goshamahal. He said that while Raja Singh secured 92,000 votes, he secured 1.2 lakh votes in the 2014 elections.

Bhagawant Rao also holds the post of president in the Bhagyanagar Sri Rama Navami Samithi and Durga Mata Utsav Samithi, besides being involved in other capacities with similar organisations.

He said, “People of Goshamahal lacked development for 40 years. They are mostly from below-poverty groups. There are no proper schools, so I want to empower them with education and medical facilities, even though Osmania Hospital falls under this constituency. We need primary health centres. There are many artisans and craftsmen living in this constituency and they need employment.”