A Ganesh idol being immersed in Vinayaka Sagar tank in Tirupati on Monday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The huge Vinayaka idols installed at the street corners of Tirupati slowly made their way towards the Vinayaka Sagar tank amid huge processions on September 9 (Monday).Though the idols are taken for immersion on the ninth day of the festival in Hyderabad and other cities, it has been a practice in Tirupati to start the immersions on the third day, which continues on the fifth and seventh day too.The Police Department laid strict route maps and asked the festival committees to adhere to the route plan to reach Vinayaka Sagar within the scheduled hours for immersion. Apart from giving dedicated routes for the colonies located in various localities of the city, the police have allotted staggered time slots to avoid congestion at the immersion points.As the processions started in the late afternoon, devotees offered prayers to the idols before they were immersed. Cranes were deployed to immerse the mammoth idols in the deep water.Similarly, the ‘Thamalapaku Vinayaka’ (idol made of betel leaves) installed by Chandragiri former MLA Chevireddy Bhaskar Reddy in Thummalagunta was taken out in a colourful procession before it was immersed in Oteru tank. The ‘Utlotsavam’ was performed on the occasion, in which the local youth took part with enthusiasm.Three missingMeanwhile, three youths belonging to Naidupeta town went missing while immersing the Ganesh idols in the Thupilipalem beach in Vakadu mandal. Two of them have been identified as Muniraja and Fayaz, while the identity of the third is yet to be ascertained. Swimmers were pressed into service to search for the missing youths. Published – September 10, 2024 03:48 am IST