The 11-day Ganesh festival concluded peacefully in Hyderabad with less crowd and smaller statues of Lord Vinayaka. People were seen wearing masks and following Covid-19 guidelines.
Even though the police denied permission to the famous Khairatabad Ganesh ‘Shobha Yatra’ (Ganesh immersion), it happened with all precautions. The picturesque Hussain Sagar (the lake in the heart of the City) got filled with thousands of Ganesh idols.
Police diverted traffic for Ganesh immersions at Hussein Sagar and also arranged 21 cranes around the lake for immersion.
Various Police personnel provided security to the immersion since it’s the most sensitive issue in the city. They alerted people about the Covid -19 rules and warned the devotees that action would be taken if there were any violations. CCTVs were installed across the city to take the stock of the situation.
The Ganesh ‘Shobha Yatra’ (Ganesh immersion) was held since the committee decided to take the procession with people. Earlier the committee had announced that Mahaganapati will be immersed at the pandal itself but it has changed its decision at the eleventh hour.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar was at the lake to take stock of the situation. Popular Balapur Laddu was given to CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao this year, the committee decided not to auction it due to the Covid-19 situation.
Every year the laddu used to be auctioned for lakhs of rupees since it’s very auspicious and lakhs of people participated in the auction. But this year it was cancelled due to the pandemic.