Hyderabad: Quiet & subdued farewell to Ganesha

Hyderabad: The immersion of Ganesh idols went off peacefully in the city. The usual buzz that goes with the annual immersion marking the 11-day Vinayaka Chavithi festivities was, however, missing. The long processions associated with the Khairatabad, Balapur and other pandals was conspicuous by its absence.

The annual Shobhayatra (procession) of the Khairatabad Ganesh pandal took off around 1:30 pm. The change in the timings of the immersion was effected to avoid traffic snarls. The Khairatabad Ganesh idol this year was only 9 feet.

Heavy private security forces arranged by the Utsav Samiti escorted the Maha Ganesh from Khairatbad till Hussainsagar lake completing 1.5km route. Along with that Police forces were also been deployed across the Hussainsagar lake for the immersion to get completed by 5 pm.

According to Ganesh Utsav Samithi organizers, the immersion was to be conducted at the pandal itself. However, they changed their decision after devotees wanted them to follow the customs and take up procession as per tradition. "On Tuesday, the 9-ft idol was set up on a trolley around 1 pm., after which the procession started and began moving towards Tank Bund, via Telephone Bhavan-Secretariat-NTR Marg route. It will reach crane No. 4 which has been positioned on NTR Marg Road at Tank Bund for the immersion," said Sudarshan, president, Khairtabad Ganesh Samiti.

Ganesh idols coming from Balapur, Chandrayangutta, Bandlaguda, Falaknuma, Shamsheergunj, Uppuguda, Lal Darwaza, Haribowli and all surrounding areas were passing through the Charminar in a smooth manner without any procession.

However, this year the immersion was a low-key affair, unlike every year. While several devotees have decided to stay home due to the fear of contracting COVID-19, a limited number of people tuned up at Tank Bund to seek Maha Ganesha's blessing over the last 10 days to immerse idols. Every year, thousands of devotees would turn up to witness the immersion.

Hyderabad city police made security arrangements with special force including local police, Special Operations Team (SOT), Rapid Action Force (RAF) etc. were deployed in the sensitive areas and including Charminar and Moazamjahi market.

"Immersion is likely to last until midnight today, said Anjani Kumar Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad. Hussainsagar witnessed up to 1,500 Ganesh Idols immersions on the last day and around 35,000 idols idols were immersed this year. The number of Ganesh idols has decreased this year as compared to every year. Devotees are participating in the immersion program by wearing masks.

Similarly, the Safilguda Lake in Malkajgiri on the last day witnessed around 500 immersions and overall around 795 idols below two feet and 134 above three feet idols were immersed during the 10 day festival.

No auction of laddu at Balapur

Hyderabad: This year the Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi decided to present the 21-kg laddu with a silver bowl to Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao as Ganesh Prasadam. The Samithi decided against an auction, a 26-year-old tradition due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"This year there is no auction for laddu, we have decided to present the laddu to CM, K Chandrashekhar Rao, and we are trying to take appointment with the help of Minister and Maheshwaram MLA Sabita Indira Reddy," said Niranjan Reddy, president, Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi. Last year, the Ganesh laddu was auctioned for Rs 17.6 lakh which was bagged by Kolan Rami Reddy.

Elaborate security cover for fete

The city police have deployed 15,000 force to ensure the peaceful immersion of Ganesh idols in the city. Revealing the details of the immersion, Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said that the immersion was going on in a peaceful manner. He said that the immersion was being held by following all Covid 19 guidelines. He said that no untoward incident had taken place in the city so far. He also said that they had made massive security arrangements in all sensitive areas of the city.

He said that the immersion of the famous Balapur Ganesh idol was already completed by the organisers and added that the immersion of the another famous Khairatabad Ganesh would also be completed very soon. He said that they were monitoring the entire situation from their command control room. He said that the immersion would continue till the midnight of Tuesday.