Authorities issue guidelines to Ganesh pandal organizers in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam district administration on Sunday issued guidelines to Ganesh pandal organizers ahead of the Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations. As per the guidelines, the organizers should get clearance certificates from various departments before installing the pandals.
Visakhapatnam district collector MN Harendhira Prasad said that a single window system was set up on August 25 at the Collector Office in Vizag city to give prior permissions to install Ganesh pandals.Various stakeholders like the GVMC, pollution control board (PCB), police, fire service and electricity supply company will be deciding on permission under one roof.

Ahead of the festival, scheduled to be celebrated on September 7 (Saturday), the district administration has framed rules. Though there is no restriction on height of Ganesh idols in the city, officials have urged organizers to install idols that are between six feet and eight feet height to facilitate easy immersions.
In 2018, a total of 1,840 Ganesh pandals were erected in Vizag city and the number of pandals increased to 2,500 in 2019. While Covid-19 pandemic hit the festival hard in 2020 and 2021, in 2022, Vizag city police gave permission to 1,250 pandals and the number rose to 1,290 in 2023.
The officials said that efforts are being made to promote clay idols and urged the organizers to minimize the use of single-use plastic and plaster of Paris (PoP) for decoration of the pandals.
With rise in water pollution in water bodies and sea in Vizag, authorities asked the organizers to take steps to allow immersion of the Ganesh idols at the pandals. Despite several appeals by various ministers and environmental activists alike, few artisans and organizers are preferring Ganesh Idols made with plaster of Paris as they are more attractive than clay idols and cost effective too.