Hyderabad: The Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUS), which organises the towering Khairatabad Ganesh idol, the city’s tallest and most famous, on Monday, July 20, asked organisers of Ganesh pandals across Telangana to sing Vande Mataram and hoist the national flag on September 17 to mark the 150th anniversary of the national song, as part of this year’s Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations.
The call was given at a committee meeting of pandal organisers from across the state, held at Pulla Reddy School in Moosapet and chaired by BGUS president G Raghava Reddy. As many as 64 representatives from 32 centres attended the meeting, the samithi said.
The organisation said Ganesh Chaturthi would be celebrated on September 14, with the immersion procession to be taken out on September 25. It asked organisers to hold separate programmes during the festivities to teach “Sanatana Dharma” to the younger generation.
BGUS calls for ‘Hindu unity’
BGUS general secretary Ravinuthala Shashidhar asked organisers to mark the 650th birth anniversary of Sant Ravidas and use the occasion to spread a message of social harmony, besides making efforts to eradicate casteism and strengthen “Hindu unity.” He also called for programmes on the birth anniversary of senior Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Ashok Singhal to promote “Hindu social awareness.”
Shashidhar said meetings should be held at all centres in coordination with government departments to ensure the festival is conducted smoothly.
Alleging that “false propaganda” was being spread against the festival in various forms, he asked organisers to counter it with accurate information, and said special programmes should be held at district centres to press the government to act against “illegal foreign infiltrators.”
Demand for free power, protection from police action
Shashidhar demanded that the state government provide free power supply to pandals and said special funds should be sourced through local bodies for festival arrangements. He asked all committees to prepare local action plans to ensure organisers were not subjected to police harassment.
He also called on the youth to organise bhajans to promote spirituality during the festival and said they should be kept away from the “harmful influence of DJ culture,” adding that only programmes promoting patriotism and devotion should be held during the celebrations.
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