Hyderabad: With the immersion of Ganesh idols from the North Zone set to overflow into Friday, the city police has issued an advisory for traffic diversions. People are advised to start early to reach their workplaces and schools as the processions are likely to continue until evening.
Tank Bund, NTR Marg and Necklace roads will be closed for traffic till the evening. Though there will be no immersion on the Necklace Road side of the lake, cops will allow processions from Basheerbagh and other roads to pass through Necklace Road.
“We are expecting 8,000 idols to be immersed in Hussainsagar by Friday evening,” deputy commissioner of police (traffic) A.V. Ranganath said. Motorists should also avoid lower Tank Bund Road, Mint Compound road via Imax theatre on Friday morning, as traffic jams were witnessed last year.
“Motorists are advised to take longer routes to avoid jams. People from Secunderabad must take the Musheerabad-Narayanaguda route for Basheerbagh and beyond. Likewise, people from the other side of Tank Bund can opt for routes such as the Police Control Room to Paradise via Lakdi-kapul, Khairatabad, Raj Bhavan and Begumpet to reach Secunderabad,” an official said.
The visarjan in the Cyberabad is expected to be completed before 9 am on Friday. “We are not anticipating any diversions in the Cyberabad area as we expect the immersion process to be completed before the peak hours," Cyberabad (west) deputy commissioner of police (traffic) A.R. Srinivas said.
Plastic bags overwhelm GHMC’s trucks and bins
Ganesh idols of various sizes and styles were lined up for immersion at Hussainsagar. While most idols were made of Plaster of Paris, others were of mud, paper and other eco-friendly materials.
But as the crowd grew, many could be seen throwing large plastic bags into the lake — ignoring requests from GHMC workers. The civic body had 15 vehicles, auto tippers and bins at several points along Tank Bund to collect bags filled with leaves and other immersion material.
A GHMC staffer said, “We told the litterers there were vehicles to collect the waste. But due to religious sentiments, we could only request. We can’t just take away the bags.”
