Hyderabad:The 65-foot-tall Durga idol installed in Koti this year has been recognised as the world's tallest eco-friendly idol by the High Range World Records. The award was handed over to the organisers of the puja, Sri Nava Durga Navratri Utsav Samithi, by Sri Tridandi Ramanuja Jeeyar Swamy.
The idol depicts Goddess Durga as Maha Sasthi Durga Devi Matha. This form of Durga has 10 hands, a fierce expression and a lion behind her.
Throughout the nine days of festivities, the idol will have another five-foot-tall idol right next to it, which will be dressed in a new saree every day for nine days. Each sari represents a different day of Dasara. These nine sarees will then go for auction on the final day.
The statue was opened to the public on October 3, attracting around 25,000 visitors on the first day and nearly 1,00,000 over the weekend.
The immersion on October 15 is expected to be a grand affair. Two fire engines will assist in the idol's immersion. Special rituals will be conducted by priests from Srisailam and Vijayawada, ensuring that the traditions are honoured.
The samithi began oraginsing Dasara festivities in 2000 with a five-foot-tall idol. This year's idol took 35 days to complete by a team of 28 workers from West Bengal.
Last year, the samithi presented the Goddess as Kali Shakti Mata; it was a 55-foot tall idol. Puja organiser Gulab Srinivas, "We have increased the size of the idol by 10 feet this year, and carefully arranged the event to ensure that people do not face any trouble. With the support of the government, the idol is completely eco-friendly, we used materials like grass, coconut linen, and red sand."
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, M. Magesh, who is a devotee and a newly-married software engineer from Tirupati, said, “I came to my in-laws place. It’s quite amazing to see such a huge idol, me and my wife came here to visit the Durga idol and this is our first festival after marriage. it's just amazing."
