Hyderabad: Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the peaceful conduct of Ganesh immersion procession here on Thursday with over 25,000 police personnel deployed for the purpose.

On account of Ganesh immersion the state government has declared holiday in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. The holiday applies to all government offices, schools and colleges in the twin cities and Ranga Reddy district. However, November 12 which happens to be a second Saturday will be a working day to compensate the holiday.

No traffic other than the idols’ procession will be allowed to move on the main procession route on Thursday from 9am till 8am on Friday

The Ganesh immersion procession will start from various places of Hyderabad and Secunderabad to Hussain Sagar lake and other water bodies in the city, wherein thousands of idols from the city as well as Medak, Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar districts are expected to be immersed, Hyderabad Police Commissoner M Mahendar Reddy said.

About 10 to 15 lakh people are expected to participate in the final procession and in order to ensure that the entire programe is conducted in a peaceful manner, necessary arrangements have been made, Reddy said.

Over 25,000 police personnel drawn from Hyderabad Police and from nine districts of Telangana, besides neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and also from central para-military forces (8,722) have been deployed.

On account of Ganesh immersion the state government has declared holiday in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. The holiday applies to all government offices, schools and colleges in the twin cities and Ranga Reddy district. However, November 12 which happens to be a second Saturday will be a working day to compensate the holiday

Besides the 25,000 police personnel, 2,000 volunteers, including NCC-NSS cadets will offer services on the final immersion day.

Emergency response teams are being stationed at key locations in the route, Reddy said, adding 310 hyper-sensitive and 605 sensitive places have been identified for which pickets have been posted. Total 410 Mobile Parties are moving in the area for smooth conduct of the Ganesh Festival, he said.

Last year, 10,980 Ganesh idols were permitted to be installed in various public places, while this year the figure was 11,094. The city security wing of Hyderabad City Police will deploy 23 bomb disposal teams, 2 access control teams at important Ganesh pandals and temples. The Anti-Sabotage Teams will be using the services of 23 sniffer dogs.

No traffic other than the idols’ procession will be allowed to move on the main procession route on Thursday from 9am till 8am on Friday.

The event is being covered by more than 12,000 CCTV cameras and some of which will be monitored on a real-time basis from the control room.