A Ganesh idol made of vegetable replicas at Rausapatna, the 35-ft idol at Chauliganj, and the Lord made of emoticon badges in Cuttack. Pictures by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack/Bhubaneswar, Sept. 9: The country’s struggle with price rise showed up at a Cuttack pandal on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi today with everyone’s favourite elephant god turning up in a strictly vegetarian avatar.

Emoticon badges, bamboo, jute, naphthalene and other interesting items were used to make the idol of the Lord at various pandals.

The current economic crisis playing on their minds, members of Cuttack’s Gopabandhu Vihar Club in Rausapatna came up with the idea to ask Lord Ganesh to control price rise. Here, the pot-bellied god of all things auspicious was made up entirely of vegetable replicas.

Ganesh Chaturthi was marked by overcast skies and a strong breeze, but pandal hoppers hardly noticed the weather. They were too engrossed in the innovative ways in which Lord Ganesh featured at pandals in the twin cities.

A 35-feet idol was a big draw in Cuttack. “It is a replica of the Lalbaugcha Raja in Mumbai. It took around 12 artists of Kumbhar Sahi a month to complete the idol,” said Kasinath Sahu, secretary of Binapani Club at Chauliaganj.

Over three truckloads of clay were used to make the idol at an estimated cost of Rs 3 lakh. However, keeping in view environmental and traffic problems during the immersion ceremony, the club has decided to postpone its immersion. The idol will be on display till Dussehra, after which it would be dismantled.

Nearly 932 clubs celebrated the festival in Cuttack. Besides splurging on the idols, many local committees have come up with lavish pandals, particularly at Nuapada.

Pacific Coactive Club has built a 36-feet pandal replicating the Cuttack railway station at a cost of Rs 1.20 lakh. Jay Durga Club at Nuapada had set up a replica of the Dakshineswar Kali temple in Calcutta. Dibya Jyoti Club’s pandal resembled the Karnataka Assembly building.

“We do not see any harm in the celebrations and splurging as a lot of people get direct employment opportunities out of this,” said Lambodar Dash, a devotee.

Many clubs have come up with very unusual idols.

Kishore Club at Ranihat made their idol out of bamboo, while Emergence Club at Mangalabag used jute. Dosti Club at Ranihat used smiley badges and Sirdi Sai Club used decorative butterflies.

Bhubaneswar, too, found unusual ways to celebrate the festival.

Devotees had to pass through a 12-feet tunnel decorated with Odia alphabets to see the idol at Unit-II market. The idea was to celebrate the impending classical tag for the Odia language.

Students of the MCA department at Utkal University had something innovative up their sleeves this year. At the alumni’s request, the department organised live streaming of the puja activities on campus through webcasting from 9am to 4pm. While 300 students of the department attended the celebrations on the premises, 120-odd former students logged on to www.imca.in.

“Our seniors, who are working in various cities, applauded the idea as it allowed them to watch the campus puja from far away,” said Javed Anwar, a fourth-year student, who made the arrangements for the live show.