Sept 25 holiday as Ganesh Visarjan procession takes over Hyderabad

The Telangana government has declared September 25 a holiday for government offices, schools and colleges across Hyderabad, Secunderabad and adjoining Ranga Reddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts, as the city gears up for the grand Ganesh Visarjan procession. The lost working day will be compensated on November 14, which the General Administration Department has declared a working day.

Police expect lakhs of devotees to join the centralised immersion procession from Balapur through the Old City to Hussain Sagar's Tank Bund, with traffic curbs and diversions in force on arterial routes till midnight. Crane-mounted platforms and mobile immersion tanks have been stationed at lakes and artificial ponds to keep the water bodies cleaner.

The India Meteorological Department has also flagged heavy rain through the day, prompting civic officials to put additional sanitation and emergency teams on standby. Officials said the visarjan would be watched through CCTV and drone surveillance, with medical and disaster-response teams posted at key immersion points.