Ganesh immersion procession begins in Hyderabad amid tight security

Hyderabad, Sep 17 (IANS) Immersion of Ganesh idols began in Hyderabad amid tight security by police and elaborate arrangements by civic authorities.More than 25,000 police personnel have been deployed for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the annual festival.Thousands of idols will be immersed in Hussain Sagar Lake in the heart of the city and dozens of lakes and artificial ponds.

After declaring a ban on immersion in Hussain Sagar from the Tank Bund side, the authorities lifted the same after Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi gave an ultimatum to the state government and its leaders even removed barricades erected to stop immersion.

Authorities have arranged 12 cranes on a three-kilometre stretch of Tank Bund for the immersion. Earlier, thepolice had placed banners declaring that immersion is not allowed on Tank Bund as per the High Court orders.

Lakhs of devotees attend the annual procession called Shoba Yatra, which brings the city to a complete halt, marking the conclusion of the nine-day Ganesh Chaturthi.Traffic curbs have been imposed within the limits of all three police commissionerates to ensure smooth conduct of the festivities.Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday held a meeting with senior officials to review the arrangements for the immersion. He asked officials to focus on sensitive areas to ensure that the event passes off smoothly.Police would supervise the immersion in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits with 733 CCTV cameras.

More than one lakh idols were set up for worship this year and a majority of them would be immersed in water bodies on Tuesday.

The procession of the 70-foot Khairatabad idol, the tallest in the city, began early Tuesday. Its immersion is likely to be completed by the afternoon.The main procession starts from Katta Maisamma temple at Balapur and it reaches Hussain Sagar after passing through a communally sensitive old city and covering a distance of about 16 km.

Police top brass kept a tight vigil at the historic Mecca Masjid near Charminar to prevent any untoward incident.

Several tributary processions joined the main procession, billed as the biggest gathering for immersion after Mumbai.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand and other top officials will monitor the procession from the Police Command Control Centre.As several idols were immersed on Monday, the annual procession of Milad-un-Nabi was postponed to September 19 by the organisers at the request of the Chief Minister. This is the second year in a row that Milad's procession has been postponed.Elaborate arrangements have been made by the municipal authorities for immersion at five big lakes and 73 exclusive ponds. As many as 468 cranes have been set up for the immersion.

GHMC Commissioner Amrapali Kata said 15,000 personnel, including sanitation, engineering and others, would work in three shifts for 24 hours.

Hyderabad Metro Water Supply & Sewerage Board has set up 122 water camps along the procession route and made arrangements for the distribution of 35 lakh water packets.Hyderabad Metro Rail has announced that it will run the services beyond midnight. The last trains in all directions will leave at 1 a.m. and reach their respective destinations at around 2 a.m.