‘Rudraksha Ganesha’ catches the eye

Made of one crore ‘rudrakshas’, the Ganesha idol near Gokul Park on Beach Road in Visakhapatnam is drawing everyone’s attention.

Installed by Youth Icon, a voluntary organisation in the area, as part of the Ganesh festivities, the idol attracts large numbers of devotees.

According to the organisers, the idol was made from ‘rudrakshas’ brought from Nepal, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.

Devotees can have darshan of the ‘rudraksha Ganesha’ for 21 days, say the organisers.

In other parts of the city, organisers innovatively made their Lord look different from other idols to attract people.

A 117-foot idol was installed at a pandal in Gajuwaka in the city. Said to be the tallest in North Andhra, the idol was made of bamboo poles and specialised mud.

Similarly, Vinayaka was seen in different avatars at colourfully decorated pandals across the city, adding variety to the celebrations.

The famous Sampath Vinayaka temple drew devotees in droves. People thronged the temple to have darshan of the Lord on the special day.

Local MLAs visited the pandals in their constituencies and offered prayers to the Lord.

District Collector Abhishikth Kishore worshipped Ganesha with his family members at the pandal set up by the Revenue Services Association on the Collectorate premises.

Meanwhile, the police made elaborate arrangements for idol immersion at beaches in the city.

Crowds were seen at RK, Bheemili, Rushikonda, and other beaches as residents immersed the idols on the first day itself.

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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu