Hyderabad: Thirteen people, including a police sub-inspector, died during the ten-day Ganesh immersion festivities across Telangana this year, Director General of Police (DGP) CV Anand said, concluding the day of Ganesh immersions in the city.
Anand said 26 others were injured in incidents linked to the immersions, which continued until afternoon on Saturday.
Among the dead was New Kothagudem Sub-Inspector (SI) Venkanna, who had come to Hyderabad for immersion duty. Six people died in Patancheru, within Cyberabad limits, while one person, identified as Shiva, died in Khairatabad early Friday. Another death was reported in Nirmal following a heart attack. Anand said high noise levels from DJ systems had contributed to some of the fatalities.
Of the injured, 17 were reported from the Malkajgiri commissionerate.
Addressing the media at the DGP office, Anand said 1.24 lakh Ganesh idols had been registered on the state’s Ganesh portal this year, up from 1.15 lakh last year. Including idols installed in homes, apartments and other private premises, the total across the state could be between 3.5 lakh and 4 lakh, he said.
By Friday morning, around 88,000 idols had been immersed, with the remaining expected to be completed early on Saturday. Anand said processions in some areas, including Rajendranagar and Shamshabad, were delayed due to religious considerations and the expanded jurisdiction of those zones.
More than 25,000 police personnel were deployed in Hyderabad alone, backed by the Telangana State Special Police, Rapid Action Force (RAF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Octopus commandos. CCTV cameras, cranes and emergency response teams were stationed at major immersion points, with the process monitored through command and control centres.
