HYDERABAD: Thousands of devotees danced to the drumbeats as huge idols of Lord Ganesh made their way to Hussainsagar lake marking the end of 11 days of festivities in Greater Hyderabad. The city police heaved a sigh of relief as the annual Ganesh idol procession passed off peacefully in the twin cities. Lakhs thronged the tankbund road to bid adieu to the elephant-headed deity, who is the remover of all obstacles.
With thousands of idols lining up the roads leading to Hussainsagar lake, the idol immersion that started late on Sunday, extended to second day and crossed the midnight to draw to a conclusion. Previously, the idol immersion used to be completed by noon. This year, it got delayed as the procession looked unending.
The mega 59-60 feet tall Khairatabad Ganesh, the tallest and the most visited idol in the Twin Cities finally started moving at 2 pm Monday. Earlier, the mammoth Ganesh was moved on to a special vehicle and welding work was done for the final procession. Though the authorities planned to start the procession at 10 am, it got delayed as the traffic clearance was not forthcoming.
The 6,000 kg prasad laddu offered to Lord Ganesh will be distributed to the devotess on September 30. The laddu was brought from East Godavari district as ‘prasad’ for Khairatabad Ganesh. After performing special poojas, the idol was immersed on Monday night.
The centralised procession passed off peacefully in all the areas of GHMC limits as police made elaborate security arrangements and kept constant vigil. The entire procession was being monitored through 400 CCTV cameras.
Meanwhile, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has a mammoth task clearing an additional 1,350 tonnes of garbage generated during the last two days. As many as 6,500 sanitation workers have been pressed into service to clear the garbage on the procession routes, 23 immersion points, as well on Necklace Road, Tank Bund and NTR Marg roads. As many as 180 Ganesh Action Teams (GAT) for every 3-4 kms on procession routes helped in clearing the garbage. In view of the Telangana Assembly session, the authorities took extra effort to clear the garbage during night hours.
Prasad laddu
The 6,000 kg prasad laddu offered to Lord Ganesh will be distributed on September 30. It was brought from East Godavari district as ‘prasad’ for Khairatabad Ganesh.