Curtains rung down on the 11-day-Ganesh festivities with the immersion of thousands of idols in the Hussainsagar and other water bodies in and around the city on Sunday. The immersions are likely to continue on Monday as well as the centralised procession from Balapur started two-and-a-half hours late. The Balapur Ganesh idol crossed Charminar road around 5 pm and another 800 more idols were waiting to be moved from their pandals.In all, over 50,000 idols will be immersed in Hussainsagar and other lakes in and on the outskirts of the city. The crowds at Hussainsagar were thinner this year compared to previous years. While some people said it was fear after the blast in Delhi that kept people away, others attributed it to regional TV channels showing theprocession and immersion live. “Ganesh festival in Hyderabad is celebrated with participation from members of all communities. Incidents like the blast in Delhi should not be related to Hyderabad. Here, we celebrate Ramzan, Ganesh and other festivals together,” said Keshav Rao, a pandal organiser.

The city commissioner, Mr A.K. Khan, said efforts were on to ensure that the immersions are completed by 7.30 am on Monday. The police had unprecedented security cover in the city in the wake of the blast in Delhi and were relieved that no incidents of violence occurred. The only reported casualty was a local youth who died after accidentally falling from a vehicle carrying the idol. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen set up a stage near Charminar and its corporators welcomed the centralisedprocession of Ganesh idols. The BJP state president, Mr G. Kishan Reddy, and former minister, Mr A. Narendra, demanded that the Ganesh festival be declared as a national festival keeping in view the involvement of people from all communities in celebrating it.