Kakinada: The 10-day Ganapati festival ended with a couple of mishaps. A 18-year-old engineering student, Lingoli Naga Venkata Siva Surya Sai, has gone missing in the Bobbarlanka-Mukhtheswaram Godavari canal near Ravulapa-lem, on Sunday.
According to the Ravulapalem police, the residents of KSR Complex colony had set up a Ganesh pandal and the Ganesh idol was immersed in the canal on Sunday.
Sai had gone with his friends for the immersion. In the jostling crowds milling at the canal for the many immersions, Sai lost his balance and slipped in the overflowing canal. Though his friends and others tried to rescue him, the waters carried him away.
Meanwhile, AP Legislative Counsel deputy chairman Reddy Subrahmanyam who was passing by stopped, rushed to the spot and instructed the police officials to search for the youth by deputing swimmers. Search operations are being continued for the missing youth.
Another incident took place during Ganesh idol immersion programme. Two groups quarrelled with each other, with a youth from one group getting bashed up by the other group.
According to Karapa pol-ice, the youths of Guraja-napalli village had arran-ged ‘theenmar drums’ from Chollangi village. When the immersion procession team reached SC Colony of the village after the immersion, the drum- beaters stopped playing. But they had to restart playing drums at the request of the SC youth.
Meanwhile, some of the youths present there, objected to their restarting the drums and this led to clashes between the two groups.
A youth, K. Ajaya Kum-ar, was allegedly beaten up and had to be admitted to the Government General Hospital (GGH), Kakinada.
Karapa police rushed to the spot and dispersed the mob. A case was registered by Karapa police against the youths who had bashed up Ajay Kumar. Meanwhile, Ganesh idol immersion programmes have been successfully completed in Rajahmundry.
At Kakinada, the Gane-sh festival was organised by the Nagara Ganesh Utsava Samiti. The district collector Karhikeya Misra made all arrangements for the immersion programme. Several depa-rtments like Kakinada Municipal Corporation, R&B, AP Transco and others made necessary arrangements.
The Samiti president Duvvuri Subrahamnayam said the programme had been held in a peaceful manner and nearly 400 idols were immersed in the Salt-Creek canal, while 200 idols have been immersed in Bay of Bengal at Suryapet near Kakinada.
