Hyderabad, Aug. 19 -- The Karimnagar Municipal Corporation will foot the electricity bill for nearly 2,000 Ganesh pandals set up across the city this Vinayaka Chavithi season, ending a practice in which Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and local MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar personally covered the costs for three years running.

Bandi Sanjay announced the decision during a visit to Karimnagar, telling attendees that the newly Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led corporation was stepping in now that the party holds the mayor's post. He said organisers should set up new pandals without disrupting traffic or inconveniencing residents, and framed the festival as an opportunity to strengthen ties between young people and their cultural roots.

The...