An air of festive gaiety swept the city as a large number of people celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi on Wednesday. The festivities continued at the street corner Ganesh installations and at apartment complexes. On Thursday, many organisers served lunch to passers-by and localities.
In the evening, devotees indulged in pandal hopping as word spread of an idol made with coconuts or corn or where Lord Ganesha was surrounded by dinosaurs. The change in flag code has meant that the Tricolour is part of the decor in many locations. At Begum Bazaar, the pandal was covered in Tricolour. On Raj Bhavan road, the organisers used hundreds of corn-on-cob to make an idol, in Kavadiguda, the organisers used 17,000 coconuts to create a 36-foot high Ganesh idol.
The biggest draw of the pandals was the eco-friendly 50-foot high clay Ganesh idol at Khairatabad. Created at a cost of ₹1 crore, devotees thronged the area throughout the afternoon and night. The central location has been turned into a pedestrian-only zone for easy access to devotees.
