Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrated in AP

Hyderabad, Sep 3 (UNI) Vinayaka Chaturthi, was celebrated with traditional gaiety and religious fervour in various temples and specially decorated pandals in different places in the city and all over the state.

A large number of devotees visited Ganesh temples to offer prayers and thronged pandals here since early morning. Special pooja 'abhishekam' and 'maha Ganapathy homam' were performed at all the Ganesh temples.

Several devotees made a beeline to the famous Khairatabad Ganesh, one of the biggest idols in the state. This time the traditon was changed and the 'God of good luck' was made in a sitting posture to give it a new look. Over the last two decades, the Khairatabad Ganesh Utsav Committee had been making the idol in a standing posture in different styles.

The 47 feet high and 24 feet wide Ganesh idol seated on a 'sarpa simhasanam between goddess Srishakti and lords Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara and Mallanaswamy on the other side.

Police made elaborate security arrangements in the city for the smooth conduct of the ten-day festival.

More than 14,000 police personnel have been deployed for bandobust duty at Ganesh pandals, important junctions, immersion points and other places in the city besides securitymen, 220 Home Guards and 160 platoons of armed forces posted throughout the state.

Pickets have been posted at 178 hyper sensitive and 505 sensitive places apart from 239 mobile parties for the festival.

Nearly 13,000 idols would be immersed in the Hussain Sagar lake in the city on September 14.

UNI BR ROY JT KN1626