In view of the Ganesh immersion which will be witnessed by hundreds of people at Tank Bund, the South Central Railways (SCR) will be running 8 eight special MMTS trains in Hyderabad on the intervening night of September 19 and September 20 — between 10 pm on September 19 to 4 am on September 20.
According to the schedule announced by the SCR, the Secunderabad - Hyderabad train will depart from Secunderabad station at 11.30 pm, the Hyderabad - Lingampally train will depart from Hyderabad station at 12.30 am, the Lingampally - Hyderabad train will depart from Lingampally station at 1.50 am, the Hyderabad - Secunderabad train will depart from Hyderabad train station at 3.30 am, the Hyderabad - Lingampally train will depart from Hyderabad station at 11 pm, the Lingampally - Falaknuma train will depart from Lingampally station at 12.10 am, the Falaknuma - Secunderabad train will depart from Falaknuma station at 2.20 am, and the Secunderabad - Hyderabad train will depart from Secunderabad station at 4 am.
The Ganesh idol immersion was uncertain until recently after the Telangana High Court refused to allow immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris (PoP), citing the pollution of water. However, on Thursday the Supreme Court allowed the Telangana government to immerse the PoP idols for the last time.
With this, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) authorities have made arrangements for the affair.
On Thursday, Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav and GHMC Mayor G Vijayalakshmi inspected the immersion arrangements at Tank Bund.
Authorities said that a total of 330 cranes of different capacities have been arranged at the 33 lakes and 25 special ponds developed specifically for the immersion. Out of these total 330 cranes, 33 of them are deployed at Tank Bund.
Authorities said that for the smooth conduct of the festival, over 8,000 workers comprising 162 Ganesh Action Teams would be working. Further, to remove the waste after immersion, 20 excavators, 21 earth-movers, 39 mini tippers and 44 vehicles are also arranged.
Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board has set up special camps at 101 locations, along the procession route, to provide water to devotees. 38 fire-tending vehicles would be kept on standby to face emergency situations.