Goodbye Ganesha!

Hyderabad: As the Ganeshotsav revelry has come to an end on Friday, lakhs of people came out and participated in the grand 'Shoba Yatra' which passed off peacefully.

The streets in the city and Tank Bund remained packed. An aerial view gave a glimpse of the sea of people who were dancing to the beats of drums and songs during the Ganesh procession chanting 'Ganapati Bappa Moriya' and 'Ganesh Maharaj Ki Jai'. There was no let up in the enthusiasm despite inclement weather.

After a hiatus of two years, the Ganesh Nimmajan was celebrated with pomp and fervour. A large number of youth participated in the Shobha yatra and added colour to the conclusion of the festivities.

The government had made elaborate arrangements for smooth conduct of the Shobha yatra and immersion of the tallest 50 ft idol which is popularly known as Khairatababd Ganesha. It took over four hours for the procession to reach crane No 4 from Khairatabad. The police made tight security arrangements.

The immersion this year also assumes special importance as a good number of the idols were made of clay. It required special and more careful handling of the idols during immersion.

According to officials, more than 40,000 idols were immersed in Hussain Sagar and other lakes and artificial ponds in and around Hyderabad.

The 'Shobha Yatra' started from Balapur on the southern part of the city, which covers a distance of about 20 km passing through the Old City, Moazzam Jahi Market and other parts of the city to reach Hussain Sagar. Various departments made elaborate arrangements for final immersion day. The mammoth procession has brought the entire city to a halt.

Processions from the adjoining areas like Lal Darwaza, Shalibanda, Begum Bazar, Goshamahal, Osmangunj, and others joined the main procession of Balapur, which is said to be the biggest gathering for immersion after Mumbai and Pune.

The centre of attraction was Moazzam Jahi Market crossroads where some thousands of devotees participated in the Shobha Yatra and marched along with the Lord Ganesh. Ganesh idols, including the 'Pahelwan Ganesh', which is famous as 'Begum Bazar-ka-Raja' attracted huge crowds.

The members of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma welcomed the idols by floral offerings and chanting at Moazzam Jahi crossroads.

As it was Friday, when a large number of Muslims offered prayers at Mecca Masjid and Charminar through which the Shobha yatra must pass, the police made additional security arrangements. Local police and personnel of the Rapid Action Force were deployed. Religious scholars and community elders had earlier appealed to the people to attend prayers at local mosques and adhering to the calls, there was just a small turnout at the Mecca Masjid.

As many as 35,000 policemen have been deployed in the limits of three police Commissionerate -- Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Rachakonda.

Apart from aerial survey, DGP M Mahendra Reddy monitored the procession in Hyderabad and in other parts of the state from the police headquarters. The monitoring is being done through 10 lakh CCTV cameras across the state. In addition to the CCTV network, 739 cameras have been deployed along the main procession route in Hyderabad. Ten drones, four camera mounted vehicles and two mobile command control centres formed part of the massive monitoring system.

Multiple Quick Response Teams, dog squads, and anti-chain snatching teams, and SHE Teams have also been deployed.