Hyderabad: For the first time ever, the Khairatabad Ganesh idol will stand 61 feet tall, with 12 heads of Ganesha.
The model of this year's idol, named ‘Dwadashaditya’, was released by the Ganesh Utsav Committee on Tuesday, after conducting special pujas.
Every year, the making of the Ganesh idol starts three months before the festival. This year it has started four months in advance, said the artist Chinnaswamy Rajendran, who has been associated with the endeavour for two decades.
The height and width of the idol have increased because of its design. The current design has 24 hands and 12 heads of Ganesha and six snakes over it.
The estimated cost of the idol is around Rs 70 lakh to 80 lakh this year including arrangements.
About 150 artists are working to finish the idol at least a week before festival which falls on September 2.
Festival organiser Raj Kumar, told Deccan Chronicle, “We are using the design as suggested by the priest Siddanthi Vittal Sharma, who said that it would have the power to bless the state with bountiful rains and the fulfil the wishes of the devotees. A lot of special pujas will be conducted this year especially praying for better rains."
Last year, the Khairatabad Ganesh idol was 57 feet high; it was 60 feet — the highest so far — four years ago.
