Hyderabad, 26 September (H.S.): Thirteen people, including a police sub-inspector, died and 26 others were injured in incidents linked to Ganesh idol immersion festivities across Telangana this year, Director General of Police CV Anand said on Saturday.

Addressing the media at the DGP office, Anand said the immersion process continued until Saturday afternoon in some parts of the state.

Among those who died was New Kothagudem Sub-Inspector Venkanna, who had been deployed in Hyderabad for immersion duty. Six deaths were reported from Patancheru under Cyberabad Commissionerate, while a person identified as Shiva died in Khairatabad early Friday. Another death was reported from Nirmal following a heart attack.

Anand said high noise levels from DJ systems had contributed to some of the fatalities. Of the 26 injured, 17 were reported from the Malkajgiri Commissionerate.

According to Anand, 1.24 lakh Ganesh idols were registered on the state's Ganesh portal this year, compared with 1.15 lakh last year. Including idols installed in homes, apartments and other private premises, the total number of idols across Telangana could be between 3.5 lakh and four lakh, he said.

Around 88,000 registered idols had been immersed by Friday morning, with the remaining immersions expected to be completed by early Saturday. Anand said processions in some areas, including Rajendranagar and Shamshabad, were delayed due to religious considerations and the expanded jurisdiction of those zones.

More than 25,000 police personnel were deployed in Hyderabad for the immersion arrangements. They were supported by the Telangana State Special Police, Rapid Action Force, National Disaster Response Force and Octopus commandos.

CCTV cameras, cranes and emergency response teams were deployed at major immersion points, while the proceedings were monitored through command and control centres.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar