Hyderabad: Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations are set to begin on Monday in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, especially in major cities like Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam where Ganesh temples and pandals will be decorated to welcome devotees to the two-week celebration.
Temples in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also preparing to perform special rituals during the celebrations. Priests at the Shakti Ganapati Temple in Hyderabad talking to Deccan Chroniclessaid Abhishekam, Ganapati Homam and other traditional rituals will be performed for 12 days.
The annual Brahmotsavams will begin at Kanipakam Sri Varasiddi Vinayaka Swamy Temple in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh on September 14 and will continue until October 4.
At the iconic Khairatabad Panchamukha Sankatahara Maha Ganapati pandal, workers on Saturday were busy completing painting and varnish work and also removing wooden beams and temporary supports installed around the idol during its construction. Finishing work is being carried out ahead of the official puja, which begins on Monday.
While the main puja is scheduled to begin on Monday, hundreds of devotees have already started visiting the Ganesh idol on Sunday. People were seen gathering at the spot to have a glimpse of the deity and offer their prayers before the formal commencement of the celebrations.
On Monday, Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla will offer special prayers at Khairatabad Ganesh at 11:30 am and Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is expected to offer prayers.
Ganesh pandals in several parts of the city are also decorated and ready for the celebrations. Organizers are planning cultural, social and religious programs along with Annadanam where free food will be offered to devotees and visitors.
AP’s Gajuwaka, an industrial suburb of Visakhapatnam that has topped Khairatabad by hosting the tallest Ganesh idol in the two Telugu states since 2016, will have a 117-foot-tall idol.
Kosireddy organizer Ganesh Kumar said the frame of the massive idol was made from around 400 bamboo poles and covered with special mud brought from a pond in Anakapalli.
The star attraction of Vijayawada is the 72-foot idol of Chamukha Varasiddhi Maha Ganapati, which is installed by Dundi Ganesh Seva Samiti at Vidyadharapuram in Vijayawada.
Similarly, Manginapudi beach in Machilipatnam is expected to attract a large number of devotees over the next 10 days to visit the 63-foot Maha Ganapati idol. The organizers plan to hold similar celebrations annually.