Pune: Households are bracing for a rise in Ganeshotsav celebration costs, with expenses on idols, decorations, puja essentials, sweets, fruits and other offerings going up.Families are increasingly turning to DIY and reusable décor to keep costs under control after decoration services quote several thousand rupees for home setups with premium packages in the Rs 20,000–Rs 30,000 range. Many said costs of celebrating the festival at home have gone up by 15-20% at a minimum.“There is major inflation across items this year. Everything from the idol to the mandap and sweets has become expensive. We are trying to manage the overall budget because many guests visit us during the five days of Ganeshotsav,” Kiran Pandit, a resident of Kothrud, said.Undri resident Sarita Doshi said, “A typical five-day celebration at home would cost between Rs 20,000 and 25,000 last year. This includes the idol cost, cost of decorations, prasadam, lighting and even visarjan expenses. This year, my estimates indicate a spending of at least Rs 32,000-35,000.”Small idols which used to cost between Rs 2,500-3,000 are now Rs 4,000. “The cost of labour and transport has gone up significantly. Most of the eco-friendly Shadu clay idols are brought here from Pen,” Aditya Bhide, who runs Shree Ganesh Kala Kendra at Sadashiv Peth said.Mandaps made from sunboard sheets and artificial flowers cost more too. “Prices are up by 15-20%. We have made inquiries in many places and everywhere the price is up. Decorators are also charging more this year quoting higher labour and cost of materials,” Darshita Kedia, a resident of Wanowrie, said.Sweets and food offerings are also more expensive. The rising cost of key raw materials such as sugar, ghee, khoya, pistachios, cashews and almonds has led to a 10-15% hike in their prices. “We used to distribute dry fruit, mithai and laddoos to guests but now prices of premium dry fruit mithai have really shot up. We are opting for homemade laddoos now as prasadam for guests,” Aundh resident Girish Mathur said. People are also choosing to serve simple snacks to guests rather than going for elaborate catering menus.Puja essentials have also skittled household budgets, with prices of camphor, incense, cotton wicks, kumkum and other samagri going up by at least 10% from last year, local retailers said.The only relief to consumers is that the prices of loose flowers at Pune’s wholesale markets have crashed ahead of the festival due to excess supply.
