The immersion of Khairatabad Ganesh idol in the Hussain Sagar lake, Hyderabad, passed off without a hitch on Friday (September 25, 2026) afternoon at about 2.25 p.m.
The delay was due to the slow process of welding the idol to the wheeled trolley.
An army of shutterbugs queued up to frame the tall idol and the faith that brings thousands to the streets in Hyderabad.
There will be another crane near the lake to carry out the immersion,” said Fayaz, operating the crane at the site.
As plastic confetti flew through the streets, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation sanitation workers struggled to clean up.
The immersion of Khairatabad Ganesh idol in the Hussain Sagar lake, Hyderabad, passed off without a hitch on Friday (September 25, 2026) afternoon at about 2.25 p.m.
The delay by over two hours for the key marker in the immersion schedule upset the rest of the day’s line-up as the main path between Telephone Bhavan, Secretariat road and Necklace Road was out of bounds for the other idols streaming towards the lake from as far off places as Balapur.
The idol’s journey from its installation spot to the Hussain Sagar lake began at 9.37 a.m., after a delay of more than two hours. Last year, the idol was moved from the installation site at 7.44 a.m.
The delay was due to the slow process of welding the idol to the wheeled trolley. A procedure that begins in the pre-dawn hours was delayed, upsetting the schedule. “Today it has been delayed. The welding process is still going on. Our goal was to ensure the immersion before noon. But they are slightly behind schedule,” said a security personnel overseeing the arrangements.
As the devotees prayed for the final time after removing their footwear, the idol began rolling through the streets as families grabbed vantage positions to watch and shower petals. An army of shutterbugs queued up to frame the tall idol and the faith that brings thousands to the streets in Hyderabad.
As a vast army of Telangana policemen, who stayed on their toes for the past 10 days, stood guard, and created the passage throng the busy residential and commercial locality of Khairatabad and Lakdikapul, pilgrims poured in from all corners of the city right from morning to participate in the festivities that mark the culmination of Ganesh Chaturthi.
The idol built over months, worshipped for 10 days, was hauled and moved onto a trailer truck to ensure its transport to the lake. As workmen welded the tall idol to the trailer truck, a band of traditional musicians struck notes of ‘Vaatapi Ganapati bhajem’ using sannai (shehnai) and mridangam.
“The idol doesn’t weigh much. There will be another crane near the lake to carry out the immersion,” said Fayaz, operating the crane at the site.
As plastic confetti flew through the streets, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation sanitation workers struggled to clean up.
