look news india
The holy festival of Ganesh Chaturthi is being celebrated with utmost devotion, gaiety and grandeur all over the country, but a news coming from Telangana state of South India has caught the attention of the devotees and general public of the entire country. This year, such a unique picture of Bappa’s welcome has emerged in Palvancha, a major industrial town in Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana, which everyone is surprised to see. Here two major festival committees have decorated two different grand pandals of Ganpati Bappa with real currency of Reserve Bank of India. The total amount of cash used in both the pandals comes to Rs 2.90 crore. As soon as this news spread on social media and local media, huge queues of devotees started forming from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and surrounding border areas to have the darshan of this miraculous and picturesque form of Bappa.
The grandeur and craftsmanship of these two pandals established in Palvancha city is worth seeing. The responsibility of the first pandal was taken over by enthusiastic members and youth of the local ‘Kapu community’. He decorated his Ganpati idol and the entire sanctum sanctorum with strings of brand new and crisp notes worth about Rs 1.4 crore. At the same time, in another part of the city, a religious and social organization named ‘Team Ekdant’ went a step ahead and gave a grand look to the statue of Vighnaharta and the main tableau with authentic cash worth Rs 1.5 crore. When the cash of both the pandals was added, the figure reached Rs 2.9 crore. As soon as you enter the pandal, you can see the glitter of colorful Indian currency notes all around, which fills every devotee with reverence and awe.
The biggest feature of this grand decoration is that not only big notes of one class, but all the major denominations of Indian currency have been used artistically. The artisans have threaded the fresh and shining notes of Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 50, Rs 100, Rs 200 and Rs 500 with such skill that it gives the impression of an exquisite silk garment or gold and silver jewellery. Lord Ganesha’s huge crown, his magnificent necklace, armlets and even the entire halo behind the throne are made from real currency notes vines. The artisans took special care that during decoration, no stapler or glue was used on any note which would cause any kind of physical damage to the currency.
Displaying such a huge amount of cash in a public pandal is in itself a big bold and administrative step. The organizers said that the amount required for this grand and unique decoration was collected in the form of mutual cooperation and donations from local reputed businessmen, devotees and businessmen. On special request, local nationalized and private banks provided wads of new, unrolled fresh notes for the pandal of ‘Gajapati’ idol. Due to so much cash being in open, the security arrangements of the pandals have also been kept tight. The pandal premises are being monitored round the clock with high-definition CCTV cameras, private security guards have been deployed and the local police administration is also continuously patrolling the area to ensure smooth flow of visitors and no lapses in security.
This tradition of decorating Lord Shri Ganesh with currency notes is not being seen for the first time in Palvancha town, but it has gradually taken the form of a famous local tradition here. Earlier in the year 2024 also, Kapu Sangam Ganesh Utsav Committee had made headlines by decorating the idol of Bappa and the huge stage installed at Ambedkar Center in the city with new notes worth Rs 1.1 crore, while during that time an additional Rs 1.5 crore was seen in the decoration of the stage. At the same time, in the year 2023 also, Bappa’s pandal was decorated with a cash amount of Rs 1 crore. The amount and scope of grandeur is increasing every year, which has established Palavancha on the map of the state as a unique religious tourism and attraction center.