With the installation of thousands of idols of Ganesha in various forms and sizes, some of them as tall as 30 feet, 11 days Vinayaka Chaturthi festival began in both the Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with great enthusiasm and fervor.
In Hyderabad where Ganesh mandapams were put up in almost every locality and every street, elaborate security arrangements were made as the festival was coinciding with the Idul Azha or the Muslim festival of sacrifice.
In the city the main focus of attention was the famous Khairatabad Mandap where a 59 feet tall Ganesh idol was installed. Thousands of devotees including the young and the old thronged the mandap where the free wifi connectivity was the new attraction this year.
The idols were also installed in the other cities, towns and villages of Telangana where over the years it has become one of the biggest festivals though its roots mainly lie in the neighboring Maharashtra.
Groups of residents from different localities, colonies and the apartments were seen purchasing the colorful idols at the busy city markets including the manufacturing hub Dhoolpet. The transport of thousands of idols by trucks and auto trollies created a big rush on the roads forcing the authorities to impose curbs on the other vehicles in certain areas.
Though the immersion of the idols in different lakes in and around will begin from the third day of the festival itself, the main day of immersion will be on September 27, three days after the Muslims celebrate their Eid. On the day thousands of idols will be immersed in the historic Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city amid tight security. Officials estimate that the immersion will continue for almost 36 hours as most of the Mandaps managed by the BJP controlled Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samiti will prefer to come to the Hussain Sagar in the centralized procession.
The Hyderabad High Court has made it clear to the government that this will be last year when immersion will be allowed in the Hussain Sagar lake and from next year it should arrange a separate water body specifically for the immersion of the idols.
20,000 personnel including city police, special police units, para military forces and the platoons of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh police have been deployed to make arrangements to ensure a peaceful and smooth conduct of the festival.
"No attempt to create problems by mischief mongers will be tolerated", Hyderabad city police commissioner Mahinder Reddy told the media. "We estimate that about 30000 idols will be immersed in Hussain Sagar on the last day of the festival. They also include idols from neighboring districts", he added.
The police was also using 400 CCTV cameras to monitor the situation.