Amid pomp and gaiety, thousands of Lord Ganesh idols were immersed here and across Telangana on Thursday.
According to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, around 8,000 idols had been immersed in the city alone till 5 p.m.
At Hussain Sagar lake and other places in the city and across the state, police and government officials had made arrangements for the smooth conduct of processions and the immersion.
Thousands of devotees thronged the Ganesh idols immersion points including Tank Bund here following the Ganesh idols on decorated vehicles for the processions, which mark the conclusion of the 11-day long festival.
As part of security measures, over 35,000 police personnel were deployed under three Commissionerates covering Hyderabad city.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar saidthey expected the immersion programme to be completed by late Thursday or early on Friday.
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The immersion of the famed Khairatabad Ganesh idol depicted in Sri Dwadashaditya Maha Ganapati avatar, at a height of 61 feet, the tallest in the city, was done at Hussain Sagar lake at around 1.40 p.m.
The immersion process is on in most parts of the state for the past few days and the authorities said they expected around 50,000 idols to be immersed in the sea across the state on the final day of the Ganesh festival.
The auction of the famous Balapur laddu, which has become a tradition for the final day of the Ganesh chathurthi festivities, fetched Rs 17.6 lakh as against last year's Rs 16.60 lakh.