New Delhi: The entire country is eagerly waiting to welcome Lord Ganesha for a 10-day extravaganza. We Indians are famous around the world for celebrating our festivals with utmost zeal, sometimes not even caring about our pockets.
Ganesh Chaturthi, the religious festival, is the recent example of such extravagant celebration by the Indians.
According to a report by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, the festival is an Rs 20,000 crores event and the expenditure is increasing at a rate of 30% yearly.
The report titled Analysing economic boom around Ganeshotsav in India talks about the contribution which comes in from people from all walks of life for this festival. The report suggests that there are more than 15,000 mandals in Mumbai, 3000 in Pune, 2,000 in Ahmedabad and around 1,500 in Nagpur.
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The arrival of the elephant headed God, Ganesha is a big event across these cities and these mandals have a turnover of crores. The mandals get contributions in form of foreign currency, ornaments and sponsorships.
As per the report, the idols of the deity are adorned with precious jewellery of real gold and diamonds. The event generates jobs too. It gives employment to private security guards, volunteers, craftsmen and skilled and unskilled labourers who work together to build amazing pandals.
The ones who are joyous about the festival don't pay much heed to the rise in price. The costlier raw materials like clay, colours and bamboo has increased the price of idols by 20-25%. Malls are gearing up for the event too. "A majority of the 50 malls that Assocham interacted with across cities said they are expecting a 15-20% rise in footfall during Ganeshotsav," the report suggests.
Mr. Dinesh Thithe, who researched on Ganeshotsav for his doctoral thesis on ‘Culture Mobilization and Politics in Urban Setting' said, "The festival is more than 100 years old and sees mass participation of people from al walks of life who come out to participate in various socio-cultural activities global market trends have no impact on the festival The mood is upbeat and encourages people to shop and spend. Though it is a religious festival, it goes be yond that. It helps engage a lot of skilled and unskilled labourers."
