Hyderabad: As the city prepares to celebrate the Remover of Obstacles, the official machinery in the city too is clearing all obstacles for devotees to ensure that the festivities go on smoothly during the 10-day Vinayaka Chaturthi festival.
This year, the festival will commence on September 10 and conclude with idol immersion on September 19. Arranging cranes, road restoration works, sanitation, fogging and earmarking places on Tank Bund for cranes are some of the works that will be taken up. On the Tank Bund pavement, at more than 10 places, cobble stones were earmarked to facilitate immersion of Ganesh idols. The cranes that will be used for idol immersion will be placed only on the earmarked cobble stones, officials said.
Special Chief Secretary (Urban Development) Arvind Kumar, who visited Tank Bund along with City Police Commissioner Anjani Kumar and GHMC officials on Saturday, tweeted that places have been earmarked on Tank Bund for cranes that will be used for idol immersion.
“Visited Tank Bund, PVNR & NTR marg along with @CPHydCity & @GHMCOnline to finalise arrangements for #Ganesh festival Immersion will take place on earmarked (with cobblestones) locations on tank bund only w/o causing damage & addl points @ people’s plaza & NTR marg @KTRTRS,” (sic) he tweeted.
As part of environment conservation measures, GHMC is cleaning the artificial ponds located near water bodies to make them ready by September 10. In the GHMC limits, there are 24 artificial ponds built so that people immerse the idols in these ponds instead of in lakes. Most of the artificial ponds are about 43×43 in size and idols of up to 8×10 feet can be immersed in them. Civic body personnel will also be deployed near these ponds to help people with idol immersion. Another eco-friendly measure is distribution of clay idols. The State government will be distributing 70,000 clay idols through the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), 50,000 idols through the GHMC and 40,000 idols through the Endowments department.
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