Immersion procession of Hyderabad's tallest Ganesh idol underway

Hyderabad, Sep 28 (IANS) The journey of Hyderabad’s tallest Ganesh idol for immersion in Hussain Sagar lake was underway on Thursday amid tight security.

The 63-feet tall idol was being carried on a special Tusker vehicle to the lake, which is the focal point of the annual immersion procession.

The tallest idol began its journey from Khairatabad at 7 a.m. and is likely to be immersed between 12 noon and 2 p.m. Popular as Khairatabad Ganesh, it is considered as one of the tallest Ganesh idols in the country.

In coordination with police and other departments, the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee made elaborate arrangements for smooth shifting of the idol for immersion.

After the last puja around midnight, the workers started moving the idol from the platform to the Tusker vehicle. It took nearly six hours to shift the idol and install it on the specially designed vehicle.

Hundreds of people were participating in the procession, which will reach NTR Marg via Telephone Bhavan and Secretariat.

Authorities have made special arrangements for the immersion of Khairatabad Ganesh by installing a heavy crane.

As the transport and immersion of Khairatabad Ganesh is a huge task every, police, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and other departments make special efforts.

Minister for animal husbandry T. Srinivas Yadav and several leaders and officials were participating in the procession.

Khairatabad Ganesh has a history of nearly 70 years. The organisers had installed a one-foot idol for the first time in 1954 and since then, the height has been increasing by one foot every year.

Due to Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the organisers had installed a one-foot idol though they were planning a 66-feet idol. Khairatabad Ganesh is a major attraction of annual celebrations in the city.

The State Governor, ministers and other VIPs perform puja at this idol every year to mark the beginning of the festival.

For 10 days, thousands of devotees from various parts of the city and other places used to offer worship.

Every year, the organisers install the statue with a new theme and new avatar. This year the theme was selected as 'Sri Dasha Maha Vidya Ganapathi'. 'Sri Veerabhadra Swamy' idol was placed on the right side of the main idol while 'Sri Panchamukha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy' was placed on the left.