The 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations began across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Friday.
Despite incessant rains since last night, beautiful pandals have been erected at almost every nook and corner of the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
Many organisers have come up with beautiful idols and unique concepts.
According to rough estimates, nearly 50,000 Ganesh idols have been installed in the GHMC limits. The 60-feet Khairtabad Ganesh idol is the tallest, and a 5,000 kg laddu has also been made for it. The celebrations began with a pooja in which thousands of devotees participated.
While Governor E S L Narasimhan offered pooja at the Khairatabad Ganesh pandal along with his family members, many politicians offered pooja at their party offices.
Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatreyya, former MP Anjan Kumar Yadav and former minister Danam Nagender also offered pooja at the Khairatabad Ganesh pandal.
The Hyderabad City Police has made unprecedented security arrangements to ensure peaceful conduct of the festival. Nearly 15,000 security personnel have been deployed across the city for the smooth conduct of the festival.
The Ganesh festival will come to end with the immersion procession on September 8. The administration has already made arrangements for the immersion of over 40,000 idols in the Hussain Sagar. (INN)