HYDERABAD: The immersion of Ganesh idols, brought to Hussainsagar in huge processions from various parts of the city, went off peacefully till the last reports came in on Thursday night. The nimajjan of Ganesh idols marked the end of the 11-day Vinayaka Chavithi festivities.
The surroundings of Hussainsagar lake came alive with thousands of revellers arriving in trucks carrying huge Ganesh idols. NTR Marg and nearby roads remained chock-a-bloc throughout the day and night as men, women and children celebrated the occasion with zest as huge cranes set up on NTR Marg immersed Ganesh idols in the lake.
The route through which the main procession was taken out — from Balapur to Hussainsagar — resembled a sea of humanity. At Charminar and Moazzam Jahi Market, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat addressed devotees, administering an additional dose of adrenaline to the revellers. The route reverberated with chanting of prayers, and youth dancing to drum beats.
This year, the massive Ganesh idol of Khairatabad was immersed early, to prevent traffic snarls and hasten the immersion process.
The only discordant note was that a police constable of Bahadurpura police station, Ravinder, who was posted at a lake in Kishanbagh, sustained injuries after he came under a crane lifting an idol. He was immediately shifted to a hospital.
The processions began in the early hours of Thursday. According to an estimate, at least 40,000 idols were immersed in Hussainsagar.
Meanwhile, the Khairatabad Ganesh idol procession, which began on Thursday morning, reached Hussainsagar seven hours later. The lake is just 5 km from the place the idol was installed.
Minutes after the 61-foot-tall idol was immersed, a few devotees standing along the barricade of NTR Marg slipped into the lake as the barricade collapsed. NDRF teams rushed to their rescue.