Ganesh immersion in Hyderabad's Hussain Sagar continues on 2nd day

Hyderabad, Sep 20 : The immersion of Ganesh idols in Hyderabad's Hussain Sagar lake spilled on to the second day on Monday as more idols were on their way for the ritual.

More than 5,000 big-sized idols have been immersed in the lake since Sunday morning.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials said slow movement of the immersion procession was due to the rainfall on Sunday.

With Monday being the working day, police lifted traffic restrictions on the Tank Bund and NTR Marg while immersions were continuing on the PV Marg side.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar said PVN Marg was closed for traffic completely as idol immersion was underway. He said idols from Rachakonda and Cyberabad came to the lake early morning apart from the local ones.

While continuing immersions, several sanitation teams of GHMC were busy removing debris from Hussain Sagar and other lakes and ponds in the city.

While seeking exemption for immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP) for this year, GHMC had given an undertaking to the Supreme Court that the debris will be removed from the lake within 24 hours.

The GHMC pressed into service 20 excavators, 21 earth-movers, 39 mini tippers and 44 vehicles with 10 tonnes of capacity to remove waste after immersion.

A total of 40 cranes have been deployed for immersion at Hussain Sagar. The decks for immersion in this lake were cleared after the Supreme Court allowed the immersion of idols made of PoP for this year.

Earlier, the Telangana High Court had refused to allow immersion of idols of Plaster of Paris and had rejected the plea of GHMC for modifying its orders, saying it can't allow pollution of the lake.

Following the Telangana High Court rejecting its review petition, the GHMC had moved the Supreme Court, which gave the exemption for this year.

More than 8,000 workers, constituting 162 Ganesh Action Teams, were deployed to ensure a smooth completion of immersion.

In all, GHMC had installed 330 cranes of various capacities at 33 lakes and 25 special ponds created for immersion.

An estimated 40,000 idols were installed in the city and outskirts.

The mammoth immersion procession passed off peacefully. About 27,000 security personnel were deployed as part of the massive security arrangements.

The tallest Khairatabad idol was immersed in Hussain Sagar in the afternoon. The 40-feet tall and 23-feet wide idol was brought to NTR Marg, where it was immersed with the help of a huge crane. In the past, the immersion of Khairatabad used to take several hours and on few occasions it had taken more than 24 hours.

After the 2020 break due to Covid-19 restriction, the immersion procession in the city was held with traditional pomp gaiety. However, Covid-19 safety rules were thrown to the wind as thousands of devotees participated in the festivities without wearing masks or maintaining social distance.