Covid-19 has taken a toll on our festivities. We celebrated Ugadi and Sri Rama Navami in quite a subdued fashion. The Ganesh Chaturthi, which falls on August 22, too, is going to be low-key in all likelihood. If private ceremonies have been affected drastically, can public events like the Khairatabad Ganesh idol 'utsav' be far behind?

The Utsav Committee, which has prided itself over decades for erecting the tallest Ganesh idol in the Telugu States, has this year decided to set up just a one-foot tall idol. That's a 65-feet shorter than what was planned to be installed this year when times were normal.

The Committee, reports say, has shelved the ritualistic Karra Puja, which was to be held on May 18, with Hyderabad observing lockdown in many clusters till May 29.

The theme of this year's idol is a Vishwarupa Ganesh idol with 18 faces.