Belagavi market gears up for Ganesha fest business

Belagavi: Ganeshotsav is just a few days away. Apart from the main cities of Maharashtra, Belagavi Ganeshotsav is famous in Karnataka. The city market is all set for the 11-day festival with attractively designed mantaps, decorative items and fancy appliances.
Festive season has arrived in Belagavi market. Preparations to welcome lord Ganesha according to traditions have begun.Mantaps, decorative items, electrical appliances needed for Ganeshotsav are available for display and sale in the market. Khade Bazar, Ganapati Galli, Maruti Galli, Bapat Galli, Pangul Galli, Buruda Galli, Kambali Khoot and other areas are aglow with Ganeshotsava paraphernalia. Festive shopping is leading to crowding and vehicular traffic in the city market.
Apart from Belagavi city residents, people from different parts of the district and also from the neighbouring Goa and Maharashtra states visit the city market to buy goods. A variety of decorative items and electrical appliances for festivals attract consumers. Readymade pavilions or mantaps are available for sale in the market. Ganesha mantaps available at prices ranging from around Rs 2,000 to Rs 8,000 are attracting customers.
Mahadev, a mantap seller at Kadolkar Galli said: “No one has the time to prepare mantaps. So there is a huge demand for ready-made ones. Mantaps made using thermocol are more popular. They are arriving to Belagavi market from Solapur, Kolhapur, Miraj and other parts of Maharashtra.”
Bapat Galli is known as the best market for electric and electronic items. The area is now filled with decorative items, along with Maruti Galli and Pangul Galli.
Shashikant Patil, a customer and resident of Hanuman Nagar, said customers want everything ready-made, from decorative items to food items.
More than 400 public Ganesha idols will be installed in Belagavi city and more than 5,300 across the district. In order to celebrate the Ganesha festival in a more meaningful way with peace and harmony, the police department has been convincing people to install one Ganesha idol per village/town.
Officials of the district police department say that maintaining law and order during Ganeshotsav and providing security to all public Ganeshotsav pandals using the existing personnel is a challenge for the department.