more-in Vinayaka Chaturthi began on rather a mellower note in the city on Thursday. According to the authorities, there was almost a 40% drop in the number of pandals erected this year. The possible causes for the lukewarm celebrations are being attributed to the stricter implementation of rules pertaining to the immersion of idols and solidarity to victims of floods in Kerala. Some pandal organisers also say that donations for the pandals this year were meagre than the expected. However, celebrations in several parts of the city witnessed the usual pomp and gaiety. The celebrations at Jagadamba Junction had the quintessential zeal as people from across the city throng the pandals. The markets were also jam packed with the people buying new garments and sweets. Theme-based pandals At Chengalrao Peta in the Old Town, pandals were erected in every few hundred metres and the themes ranged from Lord Ganesha appearing in the attires of movie stars to spreading social messages such as the harms of alcohol addiction. “Sometimes, the elders set the wrong examples. Through these theme-based pandals, we can speak about issues which are otherwise hard to confront,” said Hemant Kumar, a high school student. With the height of idols being restricted to 8-foot, many pandals installed smaller idols. “This year, the police have made a rule that idols beyond 8-foot-high need to be immersed at the spot. That is why we have restricted the height of the idol to seven feet. In the previous years, we used to have idols more than 15 feet,” said pandal organisers at Seethammapeta. However, the pandals organisers at Poorna Market chose a bigger pandal, as usual. “We have crossed 50 years of organising the puja and this year, we are doing it in a bigger way,” said Koteswara Rao of the puja organising committee.

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