Twenty-six thousand policemen, including the para- military personnel, have taken positions all over the city to maintain law and order during Tuesday's massive annual Ganesh procession.
Telangana Director General of police Anurag Sharma told the media in Hyderabad today that 1,000 strong police force from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was also part of the elaborate security arrangement made for the procession.
11 inspectors general and four DIGs will assist the Hyderabad city police commissioner M Mahinder Reddy in supervising the security.
Similar arrangements were also made in the neighbouring Commissionerates of Cyberabad and Rachakonda where thousands of Ganesh idols will be immersed in various lakes. The focus will be on the Hussain Sagar lake in the heart of the city where more than 20,000 big idols will be immersed.
"As last year the Khairatabad Ganesh will be the first to be immersed. The organisers have agreed to it", Anurag Sharma said.
The 57 feet tall Ganesha from Khairatabad was the tallest in the state and its immersion late in the night or in the wee hours of next day was creating lot of problems for the people as the traffic jam was continuing next day.
The entire procession route from Balapur in old city to Hussain Sagar lake was barricaded and sanitised. To avoid any untoward incident all the mosques in the route were draped with white cloths. Even the outer barricade of historic Mecca Masjid near Charminar was also covered with cloths.
More than 20000 CCTV cameras were also installed to keep an eye on the procession from police control room.
The ten day long Ganesh festival which coincided with Eidul Azha passed off peacefully and smoothly.
The festival also remained peaceful in other parts of Telangana including the communally sensitive Bhainsa town of Nirmal district. The town had seen violence during the procession many times in the past.
But Otkur town in Mahbubnagar district witnessed communal rioting this year. Ganesh procession which was taken out late in the night on Saturday continued till the wee hours and DJ sound system was used to play music near a place of worship when morning prayers were in progress. When police tried to stop it miscreants went on rampage attacking houses and shops. Some vehicles were also set in fire.