VISHAKAPATNAM: Akkayyapalem will have the world's tallest Ganesh at 81 feet.

Visakhapatnam is fast catching up with Hyderabad and cities in Maharashtra in terms of the grandeur with which Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated. The Ganesh idols here are getting bigger and taller, and this year, idols at three different places in this port city are going to breach the height of 70 feet. As per the organisers, Santipuram in Akkayyapalem will have the world's tallest Ganesh at 81 feet.

“We are proud that our city will have the tallest Ganesh idols in the state, possibly even in the world,” said the members of Ganesh Youth Association, which is erecting the idol in Santipuram.

More than 150 tonnes of wood will be used for the idol and the pandal would be 87-ft high. Fifteen craftsmen from Kolkota have been brought to the city to make the record-breaking idol.

“Almost 60 per cent of the work has been completed and we will surely meet the deadline,” said a senior member of the association.

The second tallest idol in the city (72-ft) is coming up at Lankavari Street in Gajuwaka.

The president of the Sampath Vinayak Youth Association, Gajuwaka, Mr Jagadiswar Reddy, pointed out that last year the idol at Khairatabad in Hyderabad was just 65-ft tall. Gajuwaka too has got nine craftsmen from Bengal to work on their idol, which they claim will be “one of the best in the country.”

Meanwhile, Dondaparthy Junction — where a 70-ft idol is being erected — is likely to make the biggest laddu weighing 75 kg to set another record. This was revealed by the Sri Rajeev Yuvashakti Association president, Mr B. Appala Raju Reddy. On the last day of the festival, the laddu will be auctioned.

Interestingly, none of the three 70-ft plus idols would be taken in a procession for immersion. They would be “molten down” at the pandals with powerful showers of water laced with milk, honey, kumkum and haldi (turmeric).

The organisers said they were taking all precautions and safety measures to ensure the idols stood firm in their place.

The commissioner of police, Mr J. Purnachandra Rao, told this correspondent that he would check the structural stability of the idols in the interest of the public safety.