Visakhapatnam: Gajuwaka Ganesha stands 89-foot tall

Visakhapatnam:This year, the tallest Ganesh idol is being set up at Gajuwaka in Visakhapatnam.

The 89-ft-long 'Kailasa Viswaroopa Maha Ganapathi' is gearing up to bestow His blessings upon denizens at Lanka Grounds in Gajuwaka.

What makes this idol stand out is that it is crafted with the three-eyed Lord Shiva as one eye of Ganesh and Goddess Parvathi as the other.

According to the organisers, the clay-based idol would be the largest one in Andhra Pradesh. 

Another add-on feature is a 35-kg laddu which will reach the pandal from the famous sweet stall Sri Bhaktha Anjaneya Suruchi Foods in Tapeswaram. "Earlier, the laddu we offered for Ganesh gained a place in the Guinness World Records. The carving of the idol is made by sculptor Chinnaswamy Rajendran of Khairatabad fame along with his team of artists," says K Ganesh, festival organiser of SV Entertainments at Gajuwaka.

The idol is being made of white clay and bamboo sticks with the support of craftsmen from Odisha and Tamil Nadu.

In addition to the Gajuwaka pandal, another imposing elephant-headed God will be set up at Dondaparthi. Here, an army of Kolkata-based artists are pouring life into the 48-ft idol. With the city witnessing muted celebrations for the past two years due to the Covid pandemic, the massive idols at Gajuwaka and Dondaparthi are certain to draw large crowds.

Also, with no cap on the height of the Ganesh idol, the festival organisers intend to vie with one another to come up with fresh themes and make the festivities a grand affair this time.