HYDERABAD: Representatives of Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Committee (BGUS) on Sunday said that any attempt to stall the Ganesh idol immersion in Hussainsagar would not be accepted under any circumstances.
Threatening to launch an agitation if proper arrangements were not made for the immersion of idols, BGUS said, “If the devotees encounter any hurdles, the state government will be held responsible.”
It may be recalled that the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the city police have imposed a ban on immersion of PoP idols in Hussainsagar in accordance with a high court directive.
A BGUS delegation visited the Tank Bund on Sunday and removed the flex banners and iron grill fencing set up by the GHMC and the police to prevent immersion of idols in the lake.
“Despite holding several meetings, the government has not made adequate arrangements for the immersion. If necessary arrangements are not completed till Sunday, we will launch a mass protest across the city. A meeting of all Ganesh mandap organisers was called at Exhibition Grounds on Sunday and it was decided to take up protest demonstrations on Monday and bring the city to a halt,” said BGUS delegates.
“If immersion is not allowed in Hussainsagar, the idols installed in the city will not be moved and mandaps/pandals will be converted into permanent Ganesh temples,’’ BGUS secretary B Shashidhar said.
“We have been immersing the Ganesh idols in Hussainsagar for the past 45 years and by banning it, the government is playing with the sentiments of the people. The Razakar and Darussalam agenda will not be allowed to be imposed on us and the idol immersion will take place as usual at Vinayak Sagar (Hussainsagar) and no force can stop us,” he said.
BGUS general secretary B Rajavardhan Reddy contended that immersion at Tank Bund has been a cherished tradition for decades and urged the government to reconsider its decision. For the past two years the state government has taken various steps to implement the guidelines of the high court and permit the immersion of Ganesh idols in 2022 and 2023. We request the state government to allow immersion of idols in Vinayak Sagar and other lakes taking into consideration the 2021 guidelines of high court, he added.