Motorists are likely to face severe traffic jams on the arterial roads with the immersion of Ganesh idols expected to continue till at least 10 a.m. on Monday.
The earlier plans of completing the immersion by 7 a.m. on Monday went awry and the authorities are preparing themselves to tackle traffic jams as the general traffic would not be allowed on NTR Ghat road and Tank Bund till the immersion is completed. The procession was delayed due to non-availability of vehicles and cranes to lift the idols and place them in lorries.
However, the police heaved a sigh of relief as the procession passed off peacefully on Sunday.
Attributing this to complete cooperation from all segments of society, a beaming Police Commissioner A.K. Khan said no untoward incidents were reported.
Police officials said the procession crossed Charminar around 8.30 p.m. and over 3,000 idols were immersed in the Hussainsagar by 8 p.m. Efforts were on to complete the immersion by morning, they said.
Preventive custody
The police had taken around 500 persons into preventive custody on Saturday. Most of them were history-sheeters and communal offenders.
Special police teams also checked lodges and guesthouses in the twin cities to verify the antecedents of non-locals.
