HYDERABAD: The high court ban on immersion of Ganesh idols made of plaster of paris (PoP) in Hussainsagar or any other lake in the city has left cops with little time to figure out a way to implement the order. Caught by surprise a day before the festival, cops are now waiting for government orders to make the next move.
The biggest headache for cops being the giant idol at Khairatabad which is made of PoP and takes hours to reach Hussainsagar, which is barely 2 kms away.
“The number of idols this year is likely to be 10% less than 2019. But most idols immersed in Hussainsagar are made of PoP and many people have already purchased them. We have to now find a plan for the Khairatabad Ganesh and many other big PoP idols immersed in Hussainsagar each year,” a senior cop said.
Last year due to pandemic curbs there was no Ganesh procession. While in 2019, about 45,000 Ganesh idols were immersed in Hussainsagar and another 10,000-12,000 idols in water bodies of Rachakonda and Cyberabad commissionerate.
In 2019, 29 cranes were put up on Tank Bund and six on NTR Marg. This year, after Tank Bund beautification, only 16 cranes were planned there while the rest were to be set up at People’s Plaza and NTR Marg. But the Tank Bund is now out of bounds after court order.
While there are baby ponds in Cyberabad and Rachakonda, they have not been tested for immersing several idols.
