As many as 14,000 Ganesh idols were immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake, a police official said here today, adding that the immersion process is expected to go on till tomorrow morning.
"About 14,000 idols were immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake (in Hyderabad city). Around 3,000 idols were immersed in surrounding areas of the city. No untoward incidents have been reported so far. We expect this to continue til tomorrow morning," Hyderabad's Additional Commissioner of Police Anjini Kumar said.
After auction of the customary "Balapur Ganesh Laddu", the grand event of Ganesh idols immersion (main procession) began here during afternoon with much fanfare and tight security.
The famous "laddu" which went under the hammer for Rs 9.50 lakh last year, fetched Rs 10.32 lakh at the auction this year, organisers of the two-decade-old tradition said.
Over 20,000 policemen, including personnel from Central paramilitary forces, have been deployed as part of security arrangements for Ganesh immersion in the city.
Union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu and Bandaru Dattatreya addressed the procession at M J Market.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahender Reddy said that 400 closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras were installed along the main procession route to keep a tight vigil.
Nine companies of Central paramilitary forces and police forces from Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and other neighboring states were deployed, he said.
More than 50,000 idols were installed within limits of Hyderabad and Cyberabad police commissionerates and more than half of them will be immersed in Hussain Sagar lake, where 50 cranes have been installed.
Meanwhile, hundreds of devotees flocked to Khairatabad area here to get a glimpse of the city's most famous and tallest Ganesha idol, admeasuring 59-feet.
A 'Maha laddu' weighing 5,600 kg, specially brought from Tapeswaram in Andhra Pradesh, which was placed on the Ganesha idol's palm with the help of a crane, will be distributed to the people later, organisers said.
Telangana DGP Anurag Sharma said that the immersion process is going on smoothly without any law and order issues.
