Hyderabad Ganesh festival waste jumps 40% as immersion numbers swell

Hyderabad's Ganesh festival cleanup effort this year handled 4,527 metric tonnes of additional waste over the 11 days of festivities that ended on September 25, 2026 — roughly 40% more than the 3,266 metric tonnes collected last year. The figure is about four times the waste generated three years ago, when the festival produced around 1,100 metric tonnes.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) deployed 136 sanitation teams round the clock, with more than 6,000 sweepers clearing waste daily. At the Hussainsagar immersion point alone, 770 workers were assigned to keep the area clean, according to official data.

The scale of the operation reflects the sheer volume of idols being immersed. GHMC officials said 1.15 lakh idols were immersed in lakes within the corporation's jurisdiction up to 5 p.m. on September 26, 2026, with 66,000 of them released into Hussainsagar.

Along the stretch from Necklace Road to the Secretariat junction, trolley vehicles carrying idols of all sizes queued up as revellers in matching attire waited for cranes to lift the idols into the lake. Police announcements directed participants to designated crane numbers, while officers on duty waited for the proceedings to wind down. A confetti machine sent colourful paper shreds and glitter across the area.

The roads still bore traces of the previous night's celebrations — scattered confetti, used paper plates piled along the roadside, and the stench of drying urine behind police barricades on the far side of the lake. Even so, the scene was cleaner than the day before: no remnants of paper or plastic cups used to distribute 'Prasadam' remained, nor any food waste, and flower and foliage debris from the trolleys had been cleared without a trace.

Despite the cleanup effort, the volume of immersion waste has continued to climb year after year, with little sign of attention to sustainability or civic responsibility.