Immersion triggers row over venue in Kakinada

Kakinada: The immersion of Ganesh idols issue has become a controversy as the Ganesh Utsava Samithi strongly opposed the shifting of immersion venue from Vinayaka Sagar to some other place.

According to sources, Ganesh Utsava Samithi is holding immersion of Lord Ganesh for the past 30 years by bringing all the idols under one umbrella and immerse them at Vinayaka Sagar in Jagannaickpur.

But now the Corporation Officials taking up development works at Vinayaka Sagar and decided to shift the immersion venue to another place. In this backdrop, the Samithi members strongly opposed the corporation's move and demanded the officials not to shift the venue considering the sentiments of Hindus.

"The KMC officials did not honour the sentiments of Hindus and decided to shift the venue. It is very ridiculous on the part of officials,'' said Samithi president Duvvuri Subrahmanyam. Three days back, the Samithi members staged a dharna in front of the Collectorate and tried to barge into Collector's office. But police foiled their attempt.

Subrahmanyam said the Samithi and the BJP leaders, who supported the immersion programme, kept a lot of hopes on District Collector M Muralidhar Reddy's decision. But he belied the hopes of Hindu devotees and planned to shift the venue.

According to sources, the Collector held discussions with Samithi members and BJP leaders on the issue. He proposed that six feet idols can be immersed at Vinayaka Sagar and above six feet idols can be immersed at Warf Road near One Town police station. But the members opposed the proposal and made it clear that the new venue was not suitable for them.

The Collector made another proposal that six-feet idols can be immersed in Vinayaka Sagar and above six feet idols should be immersed at the sea near Suryaraopet. However, the Samithi members did not agreed to the proposal and walked out from the meeting.

Meanwhile, BJP district president Y Malakondaiah said that nearly 800-1,000 idols would be immersed in Vinayaka Sagar and the rural people immerse nearly 400 idols at Suryaraopet.