Long-drawn Ganesh idol immersion event in Hyderabad ends

Hyderabad: The mega event of immersion of Ganesh idols in Hyderabad, marking the conclusion of Vinayaka Chaviti festivities, came to an end on Wednesday.

The immersion of the thousands of idols in different sizes and forms began yesterday morning and concluded around noon today.

Many pandal organisers started off for immersion in processions in the evening yesterday.

The Hussain Sagar lake in the central part of the city was the main venue for the event. Besides this famous lake, the idols were immersed in around 20 other water bodies here.

About 25,000 idols of 3ft and above size and about 10 lakh smaller idols were estimated to have been immersed in Hyderabad, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Commissioner B Janardhan Reddy told PTI.

The Vinayaka Chaviti festivities began on August 25.

In a departure from the past, the massive Ganesh idol installed at the famous pandal at Khairatabad here was immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake by afternoon yesterday to ease congestion on the roads.

In the past, the immersion of the Khairatabad idol, popular among devotees for its huge size, used to take place towards the end of the event. A 57-ft tall idol was installed at Khairatabad for worship this year.

Telangana Home Minister N Narasimha Reddy had conducted an aerial survey of the processions along with Hyderabad Police Commissioner Mahender Reddy and other top officials last evening.

About 10,000 CCTVs were installed in the state capital and they were used to monitor the processions, the home minister had said.

The GHMC had made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the immersion event. The civic body constituted 165 'Ganesh Action Teams', comprising about 10,000 sanitation personnel, to manage the event.

It installed 27 cranes at the Hussain Sagar and several ones at other water bodies in the city to immerse the idols, a GHMC release said.

The GHMC and the Hyderabad Water Board provided water and other basic facilities to the devotees. Some voluntary organisations and individuals had also arranged water and snacks.

Police had made elaborate security arrangements for the mega programme by deploying over 24,000 personnel. Besides, personnel belonging to RAF and CRPF were also put on duty.