# Hyderabad Ganesh festival draws 15,000 on opening day

2026-09-14T14:51:21+00:00 | India | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 3 independent outlets

The Khairatabad Ganesh Aagaman drew around 15,000 people this year, up from an estimated 5,000-10,000 last year, according to the Times of India. Organisers expect over 70,000 visitors during the nine-day festivities. A 69-foot idol has been installed at the pandal, and around 25,000 police personnel have been deployed across Hyderabad for security and crowd management. Among the unique idols reported by Siasat is a 24-carat gold-plated Ganesha studded with about 3.80 lakh American diamonds at Begum Bazar, and a robotic form with a Viksit Bharat theme at Uppuguda. A micro artist from Warangal sculpted a 150-micron Ganesha on a human hair. Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla and Union Minister G Kishan Reddy offered prayers at the Khairatabad pandal.

## Indian Opinion Analysis

Coverage is uniformly descriptive across sources, with Times of India and Siasat offering straight reporting on crowd numbers, security deployment, and idol variety. M9 News uses a promotional tone, calling the gold-plated idol one of the costliest in India and praising Hyderabad's devotion, but provides no new facts. The balanced reading is that while spectacle draws attention, the practical arrangements, 25,000 police and SHE Teams at pandals, are the story's operational core. Immersion dates and crowd totals later this week will test those arrangements.

## Coverage

- timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/khairatabad-ganesh-set-to-attract-over-70000-visitors-in-hyderabad/articleshow/134218465.cms>
  Leads with crowd numbers and police deployment, no editorialising.
- m9.news (sensationalist) <https://www.m9.news/politics/hyderabad-24-karat-gold-ganesh-begum-bazar/>
  Leads with gold and diamond details, calls it costliest idol, promotional language.
- siasat.com (neutral report) <https://www.siasat.com/diamonds-gold-and-clay-lord-ganeshas-many-avatars-in-hyderabad-3542274/>
  Lists multiple idol types and organisers' quotes, wire-style reporting.

Tags: Begum Bazar, Ganesh Chaturthi, GHMC, Hyderabad, Khairatabad Ganesh
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