Scores of people from various parts of the city and Anakapalli district thronged Lanka Grounds to witness the ‘laddu’ prasadam auction, following dissolving of 89-foot ‘Kailasa Viswaroopa Ganapati’ idol set up at Old Gajuwaka Junction here on Sunday evening. Despite a drizzle, scores of people flocked the grounds to witness one of the tallest Ganesh idols in the State on the last day and offered prayers. Priests offered special prayers, abhishekam and ‘harathi’ to the deity before the event. People captured pictures and videos of the Ganesh idol on their mobile phones. Fire Department authorities used water sprayers to dissolve the idol.
Earlier, a number of people took part in the auction of the laddu prasadam. YSRCP Corporator of 74th ward, Tippala Vamsi Reddy, was the successful bidder, who bought the prasadam for about ₹9.99 lakh.
The Ganesh idol was prepared by renowned Ganesh idol sculptor Chinnaswamy Rajendran, who prepares Ganesh idol at Khairathabad in Telangana. The pandal organising committee has decided to dissolve the idol on September 18. However, its had to perform on Sunday, following police instructions after noticing a few cracks in the idol and it tilting to a side probably due to rains for the last few days.