Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and the Hyderabad city police recently banned the immersion of Ganesh idols at Tank Bund. In response, on Sunday, members of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi took action by removing flex banners and barricades installed by the authorities. They urged the state government to lift these restrictions.
The Samithi members expressed their displeasure with the ban, stating it went against their long-standing traditions. In a bold move, the leaders dismantled the barricades and took down the banners that announced the ban, which had been set in place following a High Court directive.
On the same day, the Samithi leaders led the immersion of an idol brought by devotees, bypassing one of the barricades. They claimed there were no legal reasons to prevent the immersion of idols in the lake. Although the police did not stop the immersion, they later reinstalled the barricade in the same spot.
Following these events, the Ganesh Utsav Samithi demanded that the state government immediately make all necessary arrangements for the smooth immersion of idols at Tank Bund.
Samithi General Secretary Rajya Vardhan Reddy emphasized that the government should not impose any restrictions and should assist in ensuring a peaceful immersion. He warned that if the government fails to act, the Samithi would take further direct action.
Reddy also highlighted that for the past 45 years, the Samithi had been organizing idol immersions at Tank Bund with the support of the authorities. He added that devotees would not accept the current restrictions and would continue to immerse the idols at Tank Bund.
Though the authorities had made alternative arrangements for immersion from NTR Marg and Necklace Road, restrictions on Tank Bund remained in place.
The Samithi claimed that the High Court did not ban immersions in Hussain Sagar and therefore, there should be no restrictions on Tank Bund. Reddy mentioned that during a review meeting held by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, which included top police officials, there was no mention of a ban on immersions at Tank Bund.
