Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Ahead of Ganesh Festival, a row over artisans making distorted idols has erupted from Cuttack. While artisans have been admonished by the police, the matter has reached the court.
According to the reports, artisans are busy giving final touches to the idols and puja committee members at preparations. But some artisans and puja committees have meanwhile courted controversy for giving a whimsical shape to the idols. At a pandal in Cuttack, the lord looks like his father with the water of the Ganga coming out from the matted locks and a snake around the neck. At another, he sits on a lion, instead of a rat.
On the allegation of distorting the lord’s idol, the police on Sunday reprimanded some idol makers of Kumbhar Sahi area in the Millennium city. They have been asked to destroy the distorted idols. Taking exception to the police’s move, an artisan has filed a petition in the High Court.
In this regard, Cuttack DCP Pinak Mishra said, “The artisans have been asked to keep in mind that their idols shouldn’t hurt the religious sentiment of others and create a law and order situation.”
The distorted idols of Lord Ganesh are being made not only in Cuttack but also in different places of the state.
