Hyderabad bids goodbye to Ganesha till next year!
HYDERABAD: The city wore a festive look as small and big idols of Ganesh were taken in a centralised procession in decorated trucks from Balapur in old city to Hussainsagar for immersion. Chanting and dancing, hundreds of devotees took out processions across the city to Hussainsagar and 30 other water bodies around the city designated for immersions. Police said the processions were largely peaceful.
From a toy cycle to long truck, devotees used every possible mode of transport to ferry the idols.
The main procession from Balapur in old city was joined by others as it meandered past Chandrayangutta, Falaknuma, Shalibanda, Charminar, Patherghatti, M J Market, Abids, Basheerbagh to the Tank Bund.
the Old City
Saffron flags and pulsating drum beats accompanied by hundreds of people who swarmed the small and big roads welcomed the procession. Prasadam stalls were opened all along the procession route. Large posse of security personnel, including paramilitary forces, were deployed. Senior police officials including city commissioner Anjani Kumar kept a close watch over the festivities.
The command control centres setup by the police ensured that people who went missing in the crowd were reunited with their families. Around 40 people reportedly got lost in the crowd but were reunited with their families and friends by the police; this included a couple of children. There were also cases of lost mobile phones and wallets for the cops to deal with.
Shivamma, one of the devotees, who had come to witness the immersion with her son Deepak, said that while passing by the crane no 6, her son suddenly disappeared in the crowd. But after a few minutes of searching, she heard an announcement that Deepak was at the CCC waiting for her. Besides, 20 SHE Teams were deployed in and around Tank Bund, who apprehended those misbehaving with women.
Balapur laddu fetches record Rs16.60 lakh
The famous Balapur Laddu was taken home by T Srinivas Gupta of Balapur Mandal Arya Vysya Sangam for a whopping Rs16.60 lakh, about Rs1 lakh more than what it fetched last year. Organised since 1994, this year was the silver jubilee of the laddu auction. ‘’With the blessing of Lord Ganesh, I wanted to take a plunge into politics and serve the people,’’ Gupta said. His competitor, Kolan Ram Reddy gave up after bidding it for Rs 16.50 lakh. The auction lasted for not more than 15 minutes.
Though 29 people had registered their names for the auction that started with a bidding price of just Rs 1,116, only 9 of them were left once the price crossed the Rs10 lakh mark. The final fight was between Srinivas Gupta and Kolan Ram Reddy. The laddu, weighing about 21 kg, was prepared by sweet maker Uma Maheswar Rao who donated it to Balapur BGUS. The belief is that the winner of the laddu will prosper in their business ventures.
The winner usually distributes the laddu among friends and well wishers.
‘’I am elated to have bagged the silver jubilee laddu. We have been trying to get it for last two years but this time we have succeeded with the blessing of Lod Ganesh and the committee members,” Srinivas Gupta told Express. He said that with the blessing of almighty, the Arya Vysaya Sangam will soon ‘enter politics’. The BGUS members claimed the auction amount would be spent on development of temples and village and also for welfare activities in the education sector.
Starting from a mere Rs 450 in 1994 when K Mohan Reddy bagged the laddu in the first auction, the 21-kg laddu started attracting more bidders each year. (Inputs from S Bachan Jeet Singh, U Mahesh and Pinto Deepak)
Big boy takes an early dip
THE massive 58-feet tall Khairatabad Ganesh created history by taking an early plunge in Hussainsagar, breaking the tradition of being the show-stopper that goes last into the lake. The tallest idol in the State was moved for immersion at around 7 am on Sunday.
In the end, all was not well
Hyderabad: As the city danced in joy on the final lap of celebrations, fate had a few mourning for their loved ones. A 25-year-old youngster, who was dancing amid the Ganesh idol immersion procession, died due to heart attack in Borabanda of SR Nagar police limits. However, no case was registered as it was natural death.
The deceased is identified as Satish, private employee and a resident of Borabanda. In addition to this, an electrician connecting power supply to a sound box at a Ganesh pandal in Vanasthalipuram, died of electric shock on Sunday night.
He was rushed to a nearby private hospital, but was declared brought dead. The deceased has been identified as K Ravi Kumar (23). Hitherto this year, four such incidents have been reported in the city during Ganesh Chaturthi. Meanwhile, four persons suffered injuries after an autorickshaw in which they were carrying their Ganesh idol rammed a divider and overturned in Abids police limits on Sunday. The incident happened reportedly because the driver lost control over the vehicle. The injured persons were shifted to the local hospital for treatment.