Hyderabad: 31-foot COVID-19 themed Durga idol installed at puja pandal with virus as demon

With Durga Puja festivities being celebrated, idols of the Hindu goddess are being put up in pandals across India. In Hyderabad, organisers decided to go with a COVID-19 themed Durga statue this time around as the world is battling to put an end to the viral pandemic. A 31-feet-tall Durga statue has been installed in a pandal in the Southern city of India, where the goddess can be seen slaying the COVID-19 demon with her trident. 

Read: Artist In Assam Creates Durga Idol With Expired Medicines, Injection Vials

Eco-friendly statue

News agency ANI shared the pictures of the COVID-19 themed Durga statue from Hyderabad, Telangana, where the goddess is slaying a demon representing the disease. Gulab Srinivas, one of the organisers, while speaking to ANI, said that the statue captures the essence of the peoples' notion, who felt the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting their lives just like a demon. Srinivas said that the eco-friendly statue, which is made up of clay and grass, were made by artists from Kolkata, West Bengal. 

Read: Low-key Durga Idol Immersion In Ichamati River Under COVID Shadow

Srinivas further informed that all COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Health Ministry of India are being followed while allowing devotees to visit the pandal. Srinivas said that the size of the Durga idol this year has been reduced due to the pandemic as previously they have displayed statues at a height ranging from 44 feet to 50 feet. The Durga Puja celebrations this year will end on October 26 following which the idols will be immersed in rivers by taking out processions. 

Read: Kolkata Durga Puja Pandal To Worship 'migrant Mother' Idol; Artist Shares His Inspiration

COVID-19 has become a first-choice theme for this year's Durga Puja celebrations as in Assam an idol has been installed which is made with expired medicines and injection vials. In West Bengal, artists created an idol that represents the frontline workers risking their lives in fighting the disease. A rather strange COVID-19 themed statue in Kolkata has also been installed where Chinese President Xi Jinping has replaced the demon that sits beneath the goddess Durga.

Netizens are absolutely loving the creation and are appreciating the innovative thinking of the artists who have made the COVID-19 themed Durga idol with the virus as a demon. 

Read: Durga Puja Committee To Install Giant TV Screens To Help People Watch Decoration & Idol