Ganesha immersions underway in Hyderabad

The immersion of Lord Ganesha idols in Hussain Sagar lake and at other places here began today amid tight security, with devotees thronging the Tank Bund area despite incessant rains till afternoon. About 10 to 15 lakh people are expected to participate in the final procession of thousands of Ganesha idols from Hyderabad besides Medak, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar districts, which marks the conclusion of the 11-day long festival. Two persons got electrocuted during the immersion procession at Champapet here last night. In order to ensure that the entire immersion programme is conducted peacefully without any untoward incident, all necessary arrangements have been put in place. Over 25,000 police personnel have been deployed to ensure security of the event, police officials said. Hundreds of devotees participated in the final Ganesha idol immersion procession here and were seen dancing to the tune of drum-beats and throwing colours while bidding adieu to the God of Wisdom. The immersion of the famous Khairatabad Ganesh here was done in Hussain Sagar lake. It was installed in the form of Shaktipeetha Sivanagendra Maha Ganapathi, and stood 58-feet, the tallest Ganesha idol in the state. The famous Balapur laddu was today auctioned for Rs 14.65 lakh with the highest bid coming from a businessman Skylab Reddy. Last year, the laddu was auctioned for Rs 10.32 lakh. Venkateshwar Babu (40), an advocate, and Sandeep (19) an engineering student were electrocuted last night at Reddy Colony in Champapet during procession of Ganesha idol immersion. Another person was also injured in the mishap, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials said. "As per information, they were trying to lift live wires with wet sticks during the procession when the incident occurred," they said.