Hubballi civic body allows Ganesha festival at Idgah Maidan with restrictions, 4th year in row
The Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) has granted conditional permission for a three-day public Ganesha festival at Idgah Maidan, located next to Kittur Chennamma Circle in Hubballi, from September 14 to September 16. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the civic body has allowed the event at the site.
The permission has been given to the Rani Chennamma Maidan Gajanan Utsava Mahamandali, the same organisation that was allowed to erect a Ganesha pandal at the venue last year. The HDMC has stipulated several conditions that must be strictly followed by the organisers.
According to the conditions, the organisers must obtain permission from the police commissionerate before installing the idol. The permitted period runs from 6 a.m. on September 14 to 12 noon on September 16. The organisers have been directed to set up a 30-foot by 30-foot pandal at the location specified by the corporation, the police, and the Revenue Department.
The HDMC has barred the installation of any flags other than those related to the festival, as well as any controversial or provocative posters and banners at the maidan. Loud music, bursting of crackers, cultural programmes, and advertisements are also prohibited at the venue.
The annual permission follows a history of legal and civic proceedings. In August 2022, the High Court of Karnataka declined to interfere with the HDMC's decision to permit the event, which led to the first public Ganesha celebration at Idgah Maidan that year. In 2023, an attempt by Anjuman-E-Islam, a Muslim organisation, to secure the High Court's intervention failed. The HDMC subsequently issued permission for the event after a late-night protest by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.
In 2024, the municipal council formally passed Resolution No. 331 at its monthly meeting on August 31, allowing the public celebration of Ganesha festival at Idgah Maidan. Since then, conditional permissions have been granted on an annual basis.
Recently, in June 2025, the compound wall of Idgah Maidan was cleared to facilitate the construction of an elevated road at Kittur Chennamma Circle. The construction work is currently underway, but the HDMC has not cited any disruption to its decision.
The Idgah Maidan has historically been used for Eid prayers, and its use for Ganesha festival has been a matter of controversy in the past. However, the HDMC's latest order follows the established legal and administrative precedent from the past three years, making it a routine, though closely watched, civic decision.
