One Million Participate in Hyderabad Ganesha Finale

[Guest guest]

Hi Neilji,

Thank you for sharing this, enjoyed it immensely.

A.G. )))))

 

 

, "Neil " <Trikashaivism@o...> wrote:

> <http://www.newkerala.com/newsdaily.php?action=fullnews&id=23358>

> www.newkerala.com

>

> HYDERABAD, INDIA, September 17, 2005: Thousands of people chanted

> "Ganpati Buppa Murya" as Ganesha icons were immersed Saturday at

the

> Hussain Sagar Lake in this Andhra Pradesh capital marking the end

of a

> 10-day Hindu festival. More than 25,000 policemen provided

security as

> the icons were taken in a procession for the immersion. Saffron

was the

> dominating color on the 15-km long route of the main procession.

> Devotees sporting saffron headgear danced to drumbeats as gaily

> decorated vehicles carrying the icons advanced slowly towards the

lake.

> Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utasav Samiti, the organizers of the main

procession

> for more than two decades, had set up a dais at the historic

Charminar

> to welcome icons coming from different localities. Leaders of

political

> parties and Hindu organizations addressed the gathering at

Charminar and

> Moazzam Jahi Market. For the third consecutive year, Majlis-e-

Ittehadul

> Muslimeen (MIM) set up a dais near Charminar to welcome the p

rocession

> in an attempt to promote communal harmony. The Muslim and Hindu

> corporators of this powerful Muslim political party arranged food

and

> water for the devotees. About a million people in different parts

of the

> capital joined the festivities on the roads, making it the second

> biggest procession after Mumbai. The annual procession attracted

people

> from neighboring states of Karnataka and Maharashtra. "This

procession

> is something which I can't miss," said Naveen of Bangalore, who

has been

> coming regularly for the last five years. More than 15,000 icons

were

> slated for immersion in the lake, which divides the twin cities of

> Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The procession crippled normal life in

the

> city with police imposing restrictions on movement of vehicles for

26

> hours, beginning 6 a.m. Saturday.