Published Sep 25, 2026 | 7:43 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 25, 2026 | 7:43 PM
The procession passed through Sensation Theatre, Telephone Bhavan and the Telangana Secretariat before reaching NTR Marg.
Hyderabad marked the last day of its 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations with the immersion of the city’s most prominent idol, the 69-foot Khairatabad Ganesh, in Hussain Sagar on Friday, September 25. The immersion of the Panchamukha Maha Ganapathi drew a sea of devotees who lined the procession route from Khairatabad to NTR Marg.
The idol’s journey from its installation site was scheduled to begin before dawn but was delayed by more than two hours. The procession passed through Sensation Theatre, Telephone Bhavan and the Telangana Secretariat before reaching NTR Marg.
The entire stretch along Hussain Sagar was packed with people trying to catch a last glimpse of the idol. Prominent personalities, including Congress leader V Hanumanth Rao and former MLA Danam Nagendar, were seen grooving to the tunes along with other devotees. Police said the procession and immersion concluded peacefully, without any major disturbances.
Due to the delay in the Khairatabad Ganesh procession, processions converging from Balapur, Secunderabad, Uppal, Dilsukhnagar, Tarnaka, Mehdipatnam and several other localities had to wait before joining the main route at points such as MJ Market, Liberty Junction and Narayanaguda.
The famous Balapur Ganesh idol procession, held separately, passed through several key locations in the city, including the Charminar, and was expected to conclude by evening. The auction of the much sought-after Balapur laddu prasadam fetched a record Rs 39 lakh at the annual auction, surpassing last year’s winning bid of Rs 35 lakh. The tradition dates back to 1994. Part of the proceeds each year goes towards the following year’s celebrations, while the rest is used for development work in the Balapur area.
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Minister Ponnam Prabhakar conducted an aerial survey of the processions through the afternoon, accompanied by DGP CV Anand, Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar, GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan and Collector Priyanka Ala.
Briefing reporters at Begumpet afterwards, Minister Ponnam said the immersion was proceeding peacefully and asked organisers and devotees to help speed up the process given the possibility of rain. He added that the government hoped to wind up the process by the morning of September 26.
Separately, HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath inspected the immersion from the agency’s control room on Tank Bund and directed teams to work alongside police and civic staff.
On the ground, 110 static and 170 mobile cranes were positioned at lakes and baby ponds. Authorities also identified 47 water bodies across zones from Shamshabad to Secunderabad where smaller idols could be immersed without adding to the crowds at Hussain Sagar.
Cyberabad, which operates a separate online tool to help devotees find their nearest immersion point, had already logged more than 1,03,000 idol immersions by September 23, days before the main event.
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Police Commissioner Sajjanar said close to 20,000 personnel were on duty across the city, backed by roughly 10,000 CCTV cameras feeding into the Integrated Command Control Centre. Twenty-four drones tracked the routes from above, while about 100 high-rise cameras near Tank Bund were dedicated to counting idols as they were immersed.
Another 8,142 personnel from central forces, including Rapid Action Force and CRPF companies, were deployed along sensitive stretches, while 26 SHE Teams worked across three shifts to ensure women’s safety.
Barring vehicles carrying idols, the main procession route was closed to other traffic from 6 am on Friday to 10 am on Saturday, with restrictions on NTR Marg, PVNR Marg (Necklace Road), Tank Bund and the Khairatabad flyover expected to continue into Saturday, depending on how the immersions progress.
Heavy commercial vehicles entering the city were diverted onto the Outer Ring Road, while local lorries and construction vehicles would be kept out altogether until Saturday.
By evening, as cranes continued lowering idols into Hussain Sagar one after another, Hyderabad’s police and civic staff were bracing for a long night of immersions. One more day of curbs was expected before the city’s traffic returned to normal.
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
