Karnataka - Hubli-Dharwad   

Tight security for Ganesh immersion

Staff Correspondent

Police Commissioner leads flag march in sensitive areas of Hubli; additional forces deployed

INSTILLING CONFIDENCE: Police conducting a flag march in Hubli on Sunday on the eve of Ganesh immersion.

HUBLI: Police on Sunday conducted a flag march in the sensitive areas of Hubli on Sunday evening in the wake of the first phase of immersion of Ganesh idols, scheduled to take place on Monday.

Police Commissioner Narayan Nadamani and other senior officials led the flag march, which began from the CAR Grounds here. Hundreds of police personnel took part in the flag march, which passed through the communally sensitive areas of the city. It has been practice for the police in recent years of conducting a flag march on the eve of the immersion of Ganesh idols.

Mr. Nadamani said 2,000 constables and head constables, 1,000 personnel of the City Armed Reserve Police, 30 Inspectors and 10 Deputy Superintendents of Police would take care of the security arrangements in the city.

As a precautionary measure, 150 persons who are listed in the rowdy sheets and habitual offenders have been arrested, he said. He said adequate security measures have been taken in view of the immersion procession, which will begin on Monday evening.

All religious places in the city have been provided with adequate security and strike forces would be deployed at strategic points. Security has already been beefed up at the religious places belonging to the Muslims, which fall on the route of the immersion procession, he said.

Police had conducted peace meetings in Hubli and Dharwad prior to the beginning of the 11-day Ganeshotsava. Although there have been no cases of communal clashes during the Ganeshotsava in the twin cities, the police are not taking chances.

Concludes

Ganeshotsava celebrations in Dharwad concluded in the early hours of Sunday. The immersion procession in Dharwad began on Saturday evening and went on till the early hours of Sunday. In Dharwad, most of the Ganesh mandals immerse the idols on the seventh day of the installation.

The immersion procession in Hubli will begin on Monday evening at Old Hubli. While it has been practice that the idols installed at Old Hubli would be immersed on the ninth day, those installed in other areas would be immersed on the eleventh day.

The eleven-day Ganeshotsava in Hubli will conclude on Thursday.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Horatti blames officials for confusion in higher education
Tight security for Ganesh immersion
Process of derecognising schools has begun: Horatti

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu