Ganesh Chaturthi festivities: Thousands of Lord Vinayaka idols immersed in water bodies in Telangana

The organisers installed a 63-ft tall idol this year and it was immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake around 1.30 PM.Lakhs of devotees visited the Khairatabad pandal for the darshan of Lord Ganesha.This is the first time in history that the 65 feet Khairtabad Ganesh got immersed so early by 130 pm on immersion day.

Thousands of idols of Lord Vinayaka were immersed in water bodies in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana on Thursday, marking the conclusion of Ganesh Chaturthi festivities.

The 'nimajjanam' (immersion) was held in a festive atmosphere amid tight security arrangements in the state capital.

The main attraction of the Ganesh Chaturthi celebration in Hyderabad every year is the tall idol installed at Khairatabad in the central part of the city. The organisers installed a 63-ft tall idol this year and it was immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake around 1.30 PM.

Lakhs of devotees visited the Khairatabad pandal for the darshan of Lord Ganesha.

''This is the first time in history that the 65 feet Khairtabad Ganesh got immersed so early by 1:30 pm on immersion day. It involves a huge procedure of dewelding, lifting of the idol with a big crane, placing it on the special vehicle, rewelding, moving the idol to the immersion point on NTR marg, puja, unwelding and then lifting the idol and its immersion. (It takes) 6-7 hours atleast,'' Hyderabad Police Commissioner C V Anand said on social media platform X.

State Home Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali, state Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav, DGP Anjani Kumar and other officials undertook an aerial survey to assess the movement of the immersion idols and vehicles.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) made elaborate arrangements for the massive immersion process, including appointment of 3,000 sanitation personnel and deploying 369 cranes, a release quoted GHMC Mayor Vijaya Lakshmi R Gadwal as saying.

She said 400 personnel of the Disaster Response Force (DRF) and 250 swimmers were posted at the lakes, including Hussain Sagar lake, Saroor Nagar lake, 33 other tanks and 74 ponds meant specially for immersion of Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols.

As many as 90,000 idols were immersed till today, according to the release.

Meanwhile, the 'laddu' offered as 'prasadam' at the famous Ganesh pandal at Balapur in the city was auctioned for Rs 27 lakh.

The auction of 'Balapur Ganesh laddu' is one of the major attractions of the Vinayaka Chaturthi festivities in Hyderabad, though the 'laddus' offered to the Lord at almost every pandal are also auctioned.

Securing the 'laddu' in the auction is believed to bring prosperity to the person who makes the successful bid.

Media reports said the 'laddu' at a Ganesh pandal in a posh residential community at Bandlaguda was auctioned for a whopping Rs 1.26 crore which was obtained collectively by all residents.

The police made elaborate security arrangements to ensure that the event passes off smoothly.

More than 30,000 security personnel were on duty in the state capital and its periphery for the immersion which is expected to continue till Friday morning.