Lakhs of people from across the city, irrespective of caste and religion, took part in the annual Ganesh immersion procession on Wednesday.
Raising slogans of 'Ganapathi Bappa Mouriya', 'Jai Bolo Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai' and 'Jai Ganesh', devotees of Lord Ganesha began shifting the idols in a procession from their homes and pandals to the central immersion point, the
Hussain Sagar Lake, as well as smaller water bodies like the the
Durgam Cheruvu, the Saroornagar lake, the Safilguda lake and the Yellamma lake.
With Wednesday being the final day of immersion of the idols, as many as 13,000 idols are expected to be immersed during the day, up to midnight.
Though the main procession started from Balapur after the auction of the famed laddu, the last 10 days have already seen idols being immersed in the various water bodies in the city and its surroundings.
The procession that passed through Charminar, Moazzam Jahi Market and Basheer Bagh Crossroads culminated at the Hussain Sagar Lake.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials had deployed 85 cranes to help in the immersion of the idols at various places in the city, while also installing floodlights, and arranging drinking water distribution points, medical camps for emergencies, and mobile toilets.
Leaving no stone unturned in their bid to provide security and maintain law and order, the city police made
elaborate arrangements for the immersion day. About 2,000 police were deployed at Hussain Sagar Lake along with an additional 5,000 personnel being deployed in the Old City alone to prevent any untoward incidents.
These are among the 25,000 police personnel, including 4 companies of Rapid Action Force. Apart from the additional forces, aerial surveys, CCTVs at vital points and policemen with binoculars, were deployed to keep a hawk's eye for trouble-mongers.
All senior police officers were instructed to keep reviewing the security situation on an hourly basis.
Along with the security measures, the police also engaged 26 expert swimmers to help rescue anyone who might tip over during the immersion.
The traffic wing of the city police had also imposed curbs on vehicles along the procession route, while the South Central Railway and the Road Transport Corporation had already announced
special MMTS trains and buses to facilitate the devotees reaching the immersion points.
The government has reportedly spent around Rs. 28 crore on the arrangements for the immersion procession.
Earlier, Chief Minister K Rosaiah, performing a
special puja to the huge Ganesh idol installed at Khairatabad, had called on all sections of people to maintain peace and harmony during the festival.
The Khairatabad Ganesh idol will be taken in a procession at 8pm, to be immersed in the Hussain Sagar. The police have also brought in a hydraulic crane to lift the huge statue from Khairatabad.
Courtesy: INN