Maharashtra Mandal in Patna will unveil an idol of Lord Ganesh with a crown studded with American diamonds on Friday.

Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated in the city from August 25-31. The organisation's preparations for the festival are on war footing. Office-bearers said chief minister Nitish Kumar, at least 350 members of Maharashtra Mandal, bureaucrats from the western state and important Bihar government officials are expected to take part in the week-long festivities.

"Deepak Ghotelkar, an idolmaker from Mumbai, has made the precious American diamond-studded crown for Lord Ganesh. I cannot reveal to you the price," said Sanjay Bhosle, secretary of Maharashtra Mandal, an organisation based in the western state it's named after.

One of the attractions of this year's Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations is a folk dance at the puja pandal on Serpentine Road. A group of 40 artistes from Kolhapur will come to perform before Patna residents.

Ganesh Chaturthi organised by Maharashtra Mandal is among the oldest pujas in the city and a tradition since 1951. For Maharashtrians based here, the Serpentine Road address is still the place to be around this time.

The members celebrate the festival just as people in Mumbai's Lalbagh ka Raja celebrate it.

"The Ganesh idol will be roughly 5 feet tall and a replica of the Lalbaugcha Raja (Lalbagh ka Raja) which is almost thrice its size," said Bhosle. "The Patna idol will be fashioned after the Lalbagh ka Raja idol."

Members of the organisation will also go traditional for the festival. The men, Bhosle said, will wear kurta-pyjama with the Maharashtrian pheta (turban) and the women will wear traditional nine-metre nauvari saris. The women will organise a haldi-kumkum ceremony to apply turmeric on the idol. Special modaks made of dry fruits and some stuffed with sesame seeds and jaggery will be on offer.

Bhosle said: "We are yet to get the official confirmation from the chief minister. Among the bureaucrats and IPS officers who are likely to attend our programme on August 25 include Sushil M. Khopde, Anupama Nilokar, Sujata Chaturvedi, Shirsat Kapil Ashok, Pratima S. Verma and Dhurat Sayali Sablaram."