HYDERABAD: Home Minister K. Jana Reddy has assured Ganesh Utsav Committees of taking their appeal for free power to pandals during the 10-day Ganesh Chavithi celebrations to the notice of the Chief Minister. That was all the Home Minister is prepared to concede following repeated request for free power to pandals from Union Minister of State A. Narendra, also an active member of Bhagyanagar Ganesh Seva Samithi, other members from Bhagyanagar and Sri Ganesh Utsav committees. Mr. Jana Reddy was reviewing arrangements for the celebrations at a meeting here on Thursday with people's representatives, Ganesh Utsav committee members, corporators, police and officials from municipal corporation, Transco, Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board.

"We want to provide more facilities this year for the smooth conduct of the festival and procession. All the departments concerned are co-ordinating to provide drinking water, uninterrupted power supply, repair of roads," he said.

Idol size

The Minister, however, agreed to the demand from utsav committees to let idols bigger than the stipulated size to be allowed to take diversion to the Hussain Sagar as they would not be able to pass under the flyover near Secretariat. It was suggested earlier that the bigger idols coming from Basheerbagh, Mozamjahi Market and Liberty side be taken to other lakes as they would not pass under the flyover and allowing them to take diversions would result in traffic jams and cause obstruction to processions coming from Khairatabad side. The Home Minister also said that it would be suffice to take permission from the police and the electricity departments before setting up pandals. Stating that R&B permission was not necessary, he said permission was only to ensure safety and to help police make better arrangements. He also said no permission was required for pandals to be set up for distribution of `prasadam and drinking water' along the procession route on `Nimajjanam' day on September 17. District In-charge Minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir, Collector Arvind Kumar, Police Commissioner Dinesh Reddy, Additional Police Commissioners Tej Deep Kaur Menon and A.K. Khan, Lok Sabha member Anjan Kumar Yadav, MLAs and others were present.

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