A grand immersion procession marked the conclusion of the public celebration of Ganesh festival at Idgah Maidan in Hubballi on Monday. | Photo Credit: KIRAN BAKALE The public celebration of Ganesh festival, with a Ganesh idol installed at Idgah Maidan adjacent to Kittur Chennamma Circle, in Hubballi concluded peacefully amid high security with the organisers taking out a grand immersion procession on Monday.The Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation had given conditional permission for installation of the Ganesh idol at the Idgah Maidan well in advance this time and after the three-day festivities that included various religious programmes and rituals, Rani Chennamma Maidan Gajanan Utsav Mahamandali ensured that the immersion procession began within the deadline given by the municipal corporation. BJP leaders C.T. Ravi and Mahesh Tenginakai being carried by party workers during the grand immersion procession that marked the conclusion of the public celebration of Ganesh festival at Idgah Maidan in Hubballi on Monday. | Photo Credit: KIRAN BAKALE As the permission was given till noon on Monday, the immersion procession began at around 11.45 a.m. and the idol moved out of the Idgah Maidan compound within minutes, after which, however, the procession, which was accompanied by loud music, moved at a snail’s pace amid boisterous music and dance by the revellers comprising different age groups.The Idgah Maidan where the Ganesh Pandal was erected saw a steady flow of visitors early in the morning with leaders of the BJP and various Hindutva outfits and members congregating at the venue in good numbers.MLCs C.T. Ravi and Pradeep Shettar, MLA Mahesh Tenginakai, the former MLA Shankar Patil Munenakoppa, office-bearers of the Mahamandali Sanjiv Badaskar, V.S.V. Prasad, Lingaraj Patil, Santosh Chavan, Subhash Singh Jamadar, Mahendra Kautal and scores of leaders led the immersion procession.A while after the procession left the Idgah Maidan, the revellers gathered at Brindavan Circle in front of Sangolli Rayanna’s statue where the leaders made vociferous speeches. Subsequently, loud music belted out by high decibel sound system overwhelmed the procession.It took nearly five hours for the procession to reach the pond where the festivities concluded with the immersion of the Ganesh idol amid chanting of Ganapati Bappa Morya.The police had made elaborate security arrangements around Kittur Chennamma Circle and along the route of the procession. Vehicular movement was also diverted to facilitate the immersion procession.However, as already work on the flyover is going on around Kittur Chennamma Circle, traffic diversions further affected the free movement of vehicles resulting in traffic jams at various traffic junctions in the city.The police had a tough time managing the traffic. However, they heaved a sigh of relief as the celebrations concluded peacefully without any untoward incident.Police Commissioner N. Shashikumar personally monitored the security arrangements during the procession. Published – September 09, 2024 09:27 pm IST