HYDERABAD, INDIA, August 11, 2022 (Deccan Chronicle): With 20 days left until the Ganesha festival, sculptors are preoccupied making the first-ever clay statue of Khairatabad Ganesha (which is built each year for the festival). The statue, in the form of Sri Panchamukha Maha Laxmi Ganapati, weighing 45 tons, will be 50 feet tall when completed. The statue on the left is of Subramanya Swamy while to the right will be Goddess Gayatri, according to the final design plans. Ganesh Utsav Committee convener Sandeep Raj said that 1,000 77 lb. bags of clay were procured from Rajasthan. Twenty-five tons of iron will be used, he said. The decision to use clay was to prevent water pollution when the statue is immersed.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Raj said, “The main karigar (artisan) has been called from Odisha as we have opted for a clay statue. Other artisans and designers are from Chennai, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Around 150 persons, including welders and carpenters, are toiling to finish the statue by August 25.”

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