Ganesh Immersion Concludes With Tallest Khairatabad Idol
HYDERABAD: With the immersion of the tallest Khairatabad Ganesh idol (60 ft) in Hussainsagar waters, the 11-day-long Vinayaka Chaturthi festivities concluded here on Tuesday.
Idol immersion in various water bodies in Greater Hyderabad passed off peacefully. It was for the first time that immersion went on for two days at the end of the festivities.
The annual ritual, which now become a massive event in Greater Hyderabad where an estimated 50,000 idols in different sizes have been immersed in various water bodies in the city and on its outskirts in the last two days.
On the second day too, police diverted traffic in different parts of the city that caused inconvenience to schoolchildren and office-goers.
It was a sigh of relief to the government departments, including police, as the main procession went off peacefully on Monday.
Bhagynagar Ganesh Utsav Samiti president and VHP International president G Raghava Reddy, vice-presidents N Karodimal, Rama Raju and Krishna Reddy, general secretary Bhagavant Rao, and Secretaries Shashidhar and Mahender said in a statement that lakhs of devotees had participated in the procession in response to the call given by BGUS for Samuhika Nimajjanam.
Apart from thanking all the devotees as well as Ganesh Mandapam Management Committees, the BGUS conveyed special thanks to the Telangana government for making the required arrangements and maintaining law and order.
It also thanked the Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissioners, GHMC, water board, HMDA, RTC, railways, irrigation, electricity and transport departments as well as Dharmic organisations and NGOs.
The GHMC took up sanitation drive (street sweeping and garbage removal) all along the procession routes by deploying 162 Ganesh Action Teams (GATs), one for every 4 km. Each GAT consists of one sanitary supervisor, three SFAs and 21 workers, totaling over 3,000 workers. Nineteen 25-tonner vehicles, sixty 6-tonners and 12 JCBs were pressed into service.
The idols were immsersed in Kapra Cheruvu, Saroornagar Lake, Rajanna Bavi, Mir Alam Tank, Palle Cheruvu, Pattikunta Cheruvu, Durgam Cheruvu, Malkam Cheruvu, Gopinagar Cheruvu, Pedda Cheruvu, Gangaram, Gurunatham Cheruvu, JP Nagar, Kaidamma Kunta in Hafizpet, Erla Cheruvu, Manjeera Road, Vinayaka Nagar Rayasamudram Lake, RC Puram, Sakicheruvu, Patancheruvu, IDL Tank,
Pragathinagar Cheruvu, Hasmathpet Cheruvu, Sunnam Cheruvu, Pariki Cheruvu, Venellagadda Cheruvu, Suraram Cheruvu, Kotha Cheruvu (Alwal lake) and Safilguda lake.
Khairatabad Ganesh Steals the Show
As the Ganesh Nimajjanam extended to Tuesday, undoubtedly it was Khairatabad Ganesh who was the cynosure of all eyes. Immersion of the 60-feet tall, 28-ft wide and weighing 50 tonnes Khairatabad Ganesh was over only in the evening. People in large numbers thronged Tank Bund to witness the immersion process. The road opposite Andhra Pradesh Secretariat leading towards Khairatabad flyover was flooded with people and vehicles, leading to a massive traffic jam but that did not deter people from flocking to the area. Eager passers-by and office goers, who could not find space on the route for clear view of the Ganesh procession, chose Telugu Talli flyover as a vantage point. The sight of gigantic cranes lifting the iconic Ganesh idol captivated their attention. Regular commuters who opt for Mint Compound road as a short cut to reach Khairatabad flyover were also put to inconvenience as the route was jammed.