Hyderabad bids adieu to Lord Ganesha ....

Over 40,000 security personnel .... a lakh of Ganesha idols of various hues, sizes and forms and countless devotees chanting Ganapati Bappa Moria in delirious joy .... Hussain Sagar met the sagar (sea) of humanity on the auspicious Ganesha immersion day in Hyderabad.

Countless idols were carried in massive processions all across twin Telugu states in a fiesty culmination of the 11-day festivities.

Thousands of idols are still on their way to Hussain Sagar and 23 other lakes in and around the city of Hyderabad. The immersion would continue till 9 AM on Tuesday.

Massive security arrangements: Armed policemen kept a tight vigil over the mammoth procession, which passes through the communally sensitive old city area. The afternoon prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid passed off peacefully.

Thousands of devotees thronged the roads around Charminar, where the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi erected a special platform to welcome idols coming from various parts of the old city and the outskirts.

The main procession, which started from Balapur on the outskirts, passed through Charminar, Moazzam Jahi Market and Basheerbagh before reaching Hussain Sagar.

Police installed CCTV and video cameras throughout the procession route to keep a vigil while bomb disposal squads were pressed into service.

The mammoth procession, attended by about 10 lakh people, brought the city to a halt.

Immersion all across Telangana: Huge processions were taken out in Adialabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar and other towns in Telangana.

State Home Minister N. Narasimha Reddy, who reviewed the security arrangements at the historic Charminar, voiced his satisfaction over the peaceful and smooth conduct of the procession.

He termed the Ganesh festival a "symbol of communal harmony" in Hyderabad.

Humunguous Khairatabad Ganesha attracts huge crowds: Devotees made a beeline to have a last 'darshan' of the massive idol at Khairatabad. Two huge cranes are being deployed to carry the 60-feet idol to Hussain Sagar.

The Telangana government has arranged a helicopter to shower petals on the idol.

- Sakshipost