Bengaluru, Sep 8 (IANS): The Ganesha festival is just three days away and the Karnataka government's new decision is troubling the life of the idol makers who have to face a meaningless restriction that the idols should not be more than 2 feet high at home and 4 feet high at public places.
The Congress has demanded the order to be withdrawn immediately or the idol makers should be adequately compensated.
"Millions of Ganesha idols have been made over the last two months. If the government were to impose such a restriction, what would be their status? If the government had said this two or three months ago, the idol makers would have made smaller idols," said KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar.
"Ganesha idol makers, who had no income at the time of Covid, have invested money. If this restriction is imposed in the last minute, where should they go? The government has so far not paid a single rupee to Covid affected people," he charged.
This is sheer apathy on the part of the government, making the life of those who make the idols of God miserable. "It is unfortunate that the state government has built a huge gap between the devotee and the Lord in the process of celebrating the Ganapati festival.
The statue of Ganesha is restricted to 2 feet in the house, 4 feet in the public area, and the god must be as tall as he is."
"We agree that more people should not gather at public places. But what is the logic behind the restriction on the height of the idol? This is being done by the people who claim to be the spokesmen of Hindu culture, Shivakumar ridiculed.
"If the government makes this decision at the last minute, should the idols now be placed in front of the decision makers' house? Those who have made the decision have demanded that they be purchased.
"We are not questioning the Covid restrictions, we are questioning the government's unscientific decision. The life of those who rely on this profession should not be made miserable. The government should either get rid of this nonsense or give relief to the idol makers," Shivakumar demanded.