Amidst pomp and gaiety, the famed centralised Ganesh procession from Old City to Tank Bund for immersion of idols got underway on Monday afternoon. The Ganesh procession started shortly after the auctioning of the Balapur laddu, which this year fetched a record Rs. 9.5 lakh. Local businessman from Balapur, Singi Reddy Jaihind Reddy emerged victorious after a bout of feverish auctioning.
Last year, Balapur laddu was picked up by former Mayor and TDP leader Teegala Krishna Reddy for Rs. 9.26 lakh. This year, the Balapur laddu was auctioned for Rs. 24,000 more. Shortly after the auction, Balapur Ganesh idol procession to Old city started the Centralised procession.
Though the pace of the procession was yet to pick up by Monday afternoon, there are clear indications that the immersion process is likely to continue well into Monday night and may spill over to the early hours of Tuesday. The Khairatabad Ganesh idol procession is expected to start only by Monday evening.
Lakes in the city outskirts also have reported a large number of idol immersions. Close to 4,000 Ganesha idols have already been immersed in Saroornagar Lake, while 2,000 more are expected on Monday. At Shamirpet 152 idols, another 553 idols in Durgam Cheruvu and 170 Ganesha idols in IDL have already been immersed.
