Hyderabad: Thousands of devotees thronged the Khairatabad Bada Ganesh pandal on Sunday to seek darshan of the Mahaganapati. The holiday brought a sharp rise in footfall, with all queue lines packed and large groups waiting along the roads.
Meanwhile, Ganesh idol immersion ceremonies were underway at Tank Bund, drawing heavy crowds to the surrounding areas. Many devotees visited the Bada Ganesh idol before heading towards Tank Bund to witness the immersion festivities.
The area around Tank Bund was filled with devotees as the celebrations gathered pace. Across Hyderabad, people also visited several Ganesh pandals featuring idols installed with different themes.
The nine-day Ganesh Navratri celebrations are scheduled to conclude on Thursday. Sunday’s festival holiday led to a significant increase in the number of devotees visiting pandals across the city.
In the Old City, devotees formed long queues to seek darshan of the Gold Ganesh idol. The number of visitors at another large Ganesh idol installed at Nagole also increased considerably.
Several Ganesh pandals across Hyderabad organised large-scale annadanam programmes on Sunday. The free food distribution programmes catered to thousands of devotees visiting the pandals during the festival.