Amid tight security and religious fervour, a large number of people turned out for the immersion of Ganesh idols on Tuesday in Hyderabad marking the end of 11-day long festivities.
The first idol to be moved for immersion was the 57-feet Khairatabad idol at 7 a.m., which made its way slowly past the large number of devotees thronging the road in surrounding areas to catch the last glimpse of the idol before immersion.
The dozens of traffic diversions hasn't held back people from converging at Tank Bund, the main venue for immersion. The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation is running special buses to bring in devotees to Tank Bund.
ADVERTISEMENT
Scores of small Ganesh idols in personal vehicles (cars, two-wheelers) started from 8 am. But main procession line was yet to be formed till 11 am. The Aliabad Ganesh idol has just started moving and is likely to be the first big idol leading the procession. South zone DCP V. Satyanarayana says he would ensure last idol passes off Nayapul by 5 pm.
Normally, issues connected to arranging lorries and cranes to shift idols onto them delays the procession. But this time, vehicles and cranes had already been made available to pandal organisers. Considerable number of idols were already moved onto vehicles.
ADVERTISEMENT
There are nearly 1,700 Ganesh idols – small n big – joining the main immersion from South zone. No untoward incident was reported in any part of the city so far.
Telangana Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav visited the command centre at Charminar ACP office in Old City to review the procession.
Balapur laddu fetches record price
Balapur Laddu which draws devotees to bid at high prices each year, was auctioned off at ₹15.6 lakh on Tuesday. Nagam Tirupati Reddy of Jubilee Hills Ayyappa Society made the highest bid.
The laddu auction has been a tradition that takes place each year on the day of Ganesh immersion, for more than two decades. The traditional sweet is believed to bring prosperity to those who win it in auction.