Khairatabad idol immersed by 1 pm
The 57-feet Khairatabad Ganesh idol left its pandal early on Sunday morning and was immersed in the Hussainsagar by 1 pm, continuing a tradition that began in 2016.
The GHMC for the first time in south India procured a fully-automated crane lifted the mammoth idol and immersed it in the lake.
The 400-tonne crane was equipped with Automatic Release Device (ARD), which reduced human interface and saved 90 minutes of time.
As planned earlier, the Khairatabad procession began at 7.20 am after the Utsav committee completed the pujas.
The procession moved from Sensation theatre and BSNL towers and reached the Secretariat. Thousand of devotees hailing the idol moved towards NTR Marg and reached crane number six for immersion after completing the 2.5-km long procession in six hours.
Later on in the day, the Balapur Ganesh idol was immersed after travelling for 18 km. Police used jammers during the immersion time as part of their security measures.
One team of electricity employees removed the cable wires while the procession moved towards Tank Bund and another team rearranged the cable wires after the vehicle carrying the idol moved away.
Apart from hosting the tallest idol in the city, the Khairatabad Ganesh Pandal added another feather to its cap in the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. According to the Utsav Committee members, they conducted Srinivasa Kalyanam on the recurrence of Hevilambi nama Samvatsara after nearly six decades, in the which around 170 families took part. Veda Pandits from Tirumala came to conduct the Kalyanam.