HYDERABAD, INDIA, June 26, 2019 (Deccan Chronicle): For the first time ever, the Khairatabad Ganesh statue will stand 61 feet tall, with 12 heads of Ganesha. The model of this year’s statue, named Dwadashaditya, was released by the Ganesh Utsav Committee on Tuesday, after conducting special pujas. Every year, the making of the Ganesh statue starts three months before the festival. This year it has started four months in advance, said the artist Chinnaswamy Rajendran, who has been associated with the endeavor for two decades.
The height and width of the statue have increased because of its design. The current design has 24 hands and 12 heads of Ganesha and six snakes over it. The estimated cost of the statue is around US$100,000 . Festival organiser Raj Kumar, told Deccan Chronicle, “We are using the design as suggested by the priest Siddanthi Vittal Sharma, who said that it would have the power to bless the state with bountiful rains and fulfil the wishes of the devotees. A lot of special pujas will be conducted this year especially praying for better rains.”