Nandgad following ‘1 village 1 idol’ rule for past 8 decades

Belagavi: Nandagad village in Khanapur taluk has installed a single Ganesha idol in the village for over the past 80 years. In 1944, the first Ganesha idol was installed in the village, inspired by Balagangadhar Tilak. The later generations have continued the tradition.In Nandagad, which is an important village of Khanapur taluk, the practice of installing one Ganapati idol in one village has been carried out for the last 80 years. Under the influence of Lokmanya Balagangadhar Tilak, a well-known leader of the freedom movement, a public Ganesha festival started in Nandagad in 1944. The village leaders Basappanna Aragavi, Baburao Dalal, Chambanna Kapse and RK Patil followed the idea of installing a public Ganesha in Nandagad. Since then, only one Ganesha has been installed in the village.Nandagad village has a population of around 16K. There are people of different castes and religions in the village. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Lingayats and Marathas - all celebrate the festivals of all communities together, in harmony. The people say this is the special feature of Nandagad village. This time, a Ganesha idol has been installed in the bazaar town of Nandagad village.Cultural and religious programmes are organised every year by the Ganeshotsava committee in the mantap. This year, as part of Ganeshotsava, various competitions have been organised for 10 days. People from all communities together participate in these events.Arvind Patil, former MLA and a resident of Nandagad village said that the 'One Ganapa’ rule has been followed in Nandagad village since the past. “During my tenure as an MLA, I initiated the one village one ganapa system in 50 villages of Khanapur taluk. People from different villages are still following this custom,” he said.Altaf Basarikatti, a village resident said that Nandagad is known for its communal harmony. Members of all communities gather and celebrate festivals here. If this is followed in all the villages, there will be unity and environmental pollution will also come down, he saidMahantesh Kalyani, a youth leader of the village said “In Nandgad village, we have installed a single Ganesha every year. Lord Ganesha belongs to the village community.”Earlier, Hemant Nimbalkar, who was the SP of Belagavi district, had tried to implement the ‘One Village One Ganapa’ rule. Later, during Sanjeev Patil's tenure as SP, efforts were made again to implement the concept but it did not materialise. Dr Bhimashankar Guled, an MBBS graduate and SP of Belagavi also tried to implement the concept. He opined that it would help maintain sanitation in villages and curb pollution. “Villages should discuss and move to implement this concept in the coming days,” he advised.