50,000 idols to be immersed as Ganesh festival concludes

The immersion of idols at the end of the ten-day long Ganesh festival began here amid tight security arrangements. Over 50,000 Ganesh idols of various sizes are to be immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake, the major water body in the city, and about 20 other lakes in the other parts of Hyderabad and its suburbs.

About one million people are expected to participate in the procession leading to immersion of the idols. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) have made elaborate arrangements for the immersion that began this morning. The process is expected to continue till tomorrow morning. Nearly 4,000 sanitation workers, 120 cranes and vehicles like front loaders and special vehicles are being used for immersion.

About 80 swimmers and divers with life saving jackets have also been deployed. The process of auctioning of 'laddus' offered as prasadam to the deities also began at different pandals. The laddu of the famous pandal at Balapur village on the city's outskirts was said to have been won for a whopping sum of Rs 9.5 lakh today against Rs 7.5 lakh last year. The main attraction during the Ganesh festivities was the 59-feet tall idol at Khairtabad in central part of the city. A huge 4,000 kg laddu had been put on the hand of the idol using a crane.

Meanwhile, over 15,000 security personnel, including 13 companies of para-military forces, have been deployed for the smooth conduct of Ganesh idol immersion. To prevent untoward incidents, as many as 32 bomb disposal squads, including 25 sniffer dogs, will be pressed into service, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma said yesterday. Special pickets will be set up at 290 hyper sensitive and 580 sensitive areas in the city, he had said, adding police will also keep a close eye on the procession routes, with as many as 800 CCTV cameras being put in place that will be monitored through a 'Command and Control Centre'. 390 mobile patrolling teams will also oversee the security arrangements. We will also closely monitor movement of anti-social elements, Sharma said.

The immersion of Ganesh idols was going on all over the state.