Hyderabad: After 11 days of colourful and vibrant Ganesh Chaturthi festivities, the 69-foot Khairatabad Ganesh was immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad on Saturday, September 6, before 12 noon.
Devotees from all over the city flocked in to bid farewell to Ganesha as the procession began from Khairatabad Library and culminated at the lake. The procession passed through the main thoroughfares of Telephone Bhavan, Saifabad and Telangana Secretariat before reaching the immersion point.
Nearly 50,000 idols are being immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake alone, and the process is expected to continue for about 40 hours.
Large contingent of police for Ganesh immersion
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in and around Hyderabad with multiple departments coordinating to manage the immersion, officials added.
At the Hussain Sagar lake, nine boats, DRF (Disaster Response Force) teams, and 200 swimmers are stationed to prevent untoward incidents.
Strong security measures have been put in place to prevent any untoward incidents. A total of 29,000 police personnel will be on duty in shifts, police said. Rachakonda Police here earlier said that about 20,000 idols are expected to be immersed in various lakes and tanks across the area on Saturday. Around 12,000 police will be deployed to manage the immersion, they said.
Nearly 15,000 sanitation workers would work in three shifts (24×7) in Hyderabad to maintain cleanliness during the event, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) said.
Earlier in the day, Telangana chief minister, A Revanth Reddy paid a visit to the Khairatabad Bada Ganesh pandal and sought blessings.
Ganesh laddu auction
The ‘laddu’ at the famous pandal at Balapur here was auctioned for Rs 35 lakh. Last year it fetched Rs 30.01 lakh.
As per media reports, the ‘laddu prasadam’ at a Ganesh pandal in a residential community at Bandlaguda fetched a whopping Rs 2.32 crore, which was obtained collectively by all residents.
Lakhs of Lord Ganesha idols in various sizes and forms have been installed for worship in Hyderabad and all other towns and villages in the state.
(With inputs from PTI)
