117-foot clay Ganesh idol to be set up at Gajuwaka in Visakhapatnam on September 18

The organising committee is preparing to erect a 117-foot clay Ganesh idol for Vinayaka Chaviti, breaking the previous record of an 89-foot clay Ganesh idol set up at Gajuwaka's Lanka Grounds last year. The pandal organisers, "SV Entertainments," have enlisted Telangana-based, well-known clay idol maker "Kothakonda Nagesh" to make every effort to make the Ganesh idol appealing. The construction of the idols is almost entirely finished.

According to Mr. K. Ganesh of SV Entertainments, they partnered with Telangana's well-known "Matti Manishi" Kothakonda Nagesh last year after securing the services of Khairatabad Ganesh idol builder Chinnaswamy Rajendran. About 26 West Bengali artisans, according to Mr. Ganesh, have been working on the idol for the past two months. He said that an additional 34 people had been employed in the idol's embellishment and enhancement.

In contrast to previous year, when the idol was "Kailasa Viswaroopa Maha Ganapati," this year's organisers are choosing the "Sri Anantha Panchamukha Maha Ganapati" rupam.

The pandal organisers are adding a 35-foot "Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy" statue on the left side of the pandal to enhance its aesthetic appeal. A six-foot Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy statue is being erected on the other side.

The Ganesh idol will be shown on September 18 at 11.16 a.m. (Vinayaka Chaviti). There will also be 117 kg of "laddu" prasadam presented to the God.