Hyderabad: Buoyed by the apex court’s permission to immerse Ganesha idols of all makes for one last time this year in the famed Hussainsagar lake, thousands of devotees took out procession carrying the idols of their beloved god since midnight throughout the day on Sunday.
Thousands of idols made their way to Hussainsagar in processions taken out by lakhs of devotees, with all traditional features including songs, dances, prasad distributions and fancy dressings.
Though short spells of rain disrupted the processions for some time at many places and also caused inconvenience for the devotees, it could not dampen the spirit of the faithful.
Apart from regular Ganesha Idols, a wide variety of idols including the elephant god carrying Covid vaccine bottles and syringes, grabbed the eyeballs of thousands of onlookers on either side of the roads.
Ganesha with the guitar, Ganesha on Royal Enfield bike, police Ganesha and many more caught the attention of people. Groups performing dances and displaying acrobatic skills, vendors selling knick-knacks and playthings and of course, free distribution of snacks and water kept the people entertained the whole day.
Families had a gala time watching various idols making their way to Hussainsagar, while some youth dressed up in the same attire with a theme.
A mechanised elephant, resembling a real one, moving along the road from Premnagar, Amberpet, was one of the most interesting sights during the procession.One of the organisers, Santosh, said, “Each year we come out with some variety. This year our Ganesha sat on this mechanical elephant.”
A senior citizen from Lal Bahadur Club, Chikedpally, V. Anjenayalu Swami, said, “For the past 52 years, we have been installing the idol. We perform only traditional rituals, no bands of DJ’s are allowed here.”
A train Ganesha with 26 coaches, with each coach having one idol of Ganesha was seen dragged manually by devotees.
