HYDERABAD, INDIA September 20, 2021 (Deccan Chronicle): Devotees poured out into the streets on Sunday to join a joyous, raucous processions to immerse thousands of statues of the elephant-headed Deity at designated water bodies in the twin cities. The spotlight, as ever, was on the 40-feet Khairatabad Ganesha statue and the one from Balapur. The energy pent up over the last year due to Covid-19 pandemic was fully visible on the streets, while Covid-19 preventive measures were totally ignored. People were oblivious of the tense legal battle that preceded the immersion procession, with the state government going to the Supreme Court to get permission to immerse plaster of Paris statues in Hussainsagar for one last time.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for the first time dug the Hussainsagar lake near the shore on the NTR Marg side to completely immerse the 40-feet Khairatabad Ganesha statue. The Supreme Court had allowed a symbolic immersion, on condition that statues should be taken immediately out of the lake, which means the statue should not be left in the water. Following the court’s directions and considering religious sentiments, the authorities dug up the banks of Hussainsagar 20-foot deep and ensured that the Khairatabad Ganesha was completely immersed. About 30,000 statues in the core city and another 45,000 statues on the city outskirts were immersed.
More on the festival at “source”.
https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/200921/ganesha-gets-joyful-send-off.html