VIJAYAWADA: The immersion of Ganesh idols, marking the conclusion of the 11-day Vinayaka Chaturthi, was held in a peaceful manner with a heavy security blanket thrown over the city as precaution on Sunday.
Amid youth bursting crackers, dancing to the beats of drums and chanting ''Ganapati Bappa Moriya'', devotees bid adieu to the Ganesh idols.
Idols of various sizes were taken on decorated vehicles through the designated routes in city and immersed one after the other at Seethamma Vari Padalu ghat on the banks of Krishna river.
In all, the police had accorded permission for immersion of 300 Ganesh idols within the city limits. Traffic movement was disrupted in the evening for a while as the immersion commenced. At Eluru Road, BRTS Road, Benz circle, Patamata, Kaleswara Rao Market, Chitti Nagar and Ramakrishnapuram, traffic came to a grinding halt.
Police personnel accompanied the vehicles carrying idols and temporary barricades were also put in a few places to regulate traffic.
Expert swimmers were roped in to stand guard near the immersion point to avoid any untoward incidents. Meanwhile, the traders of One Town and Besant Road areas earned a good amount of money as people thronged their shops for buying colours and firecrackers.
To avoid polluting the water bodies of the city, the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials displayed hoardings and banners cautioning the devotees not to immerse idols in the three irrigation canals passing through the city. VMC officials had initiated this after facing the ire of AP Pollution Control Board (PCB) officials following the first phase of immersion on September 16.
Devotees also took active part in the auctioning of ‘Laddu Prasadam’ by the festival committees at Besant Road, One Town, Bhavanipuram and Patamata. Organisers said that the devotees who bought laddus in auctioning would distribute it to their friends after performing puja, and sprinkle them in the fields with the belief that it would help yield better crops.