Mysuru/ Mandya: After a week of tension over the Ganesha procession at T Narasipura, celebrations passed off peacefully Friday, with hundreds of right-wing activists taking part in the idol immersion procession and a Dalit organisation holding a harmony march to promote communal unity.Mysuru district police made elaborate security arrangements to maintain peace in the temple town. SP Mallikarjun Baladandi supervised the arrangements.Dalit activists took out the communal harmony procession around noon, while right-wing activists and BJP members began the procession at 4pm. The right-wing activists burst crackers in front of a mosque, but there was no problem as cops controlled the situation and the procession continued.Hindu Jagarana Vedike, which had installed the Ganesha idol near T Narasipura police station, had announced that it would take out the procession through Link Road, where a mosque is located. The decision to install the idol was taken as a challenge after T Narasipura police inspector Dhananjay allegedly dared the activists over the immersion procession route.BJP leaders, including leader of opposition R Ashoka, Mysuru MP Yaduveer Wadiyar and Krishnaraja MLA TS Srivatsa, protested against police restrictions on the eve of the celebration. As tension escalated, police reinforced security in the town. Police also booked a reporter on charges of circulating footage of the inspector’s warning on social media.Under the leadership of religious leader Jnanaprakash Swami, the harmony march passed through T Narasipura’s main roads, with Bodhiratna Banteji, former mayor Purushotham and several others taking part. Hundreds took part in the procession that was flagged off with floral tributes to the statue of Sangolli Rayanna at Bhagavan Talkies Circle.Later, right-wing activists took out the Ganesha procession and said the Ganesha festival is being held to unite the Hindu community.Muslims join procession in MandyaMeanwhile, in Nagamangala, members of the Muslim community participated in the Ganesha puja and immersion procession organised at AD Colony, setting aside memories of communal tension that had gripped the town two years ago.Muslim residents joined the rituals and later participated in the procession. As the procession passed in front of a local mosque, Muslim residents gathered along the route and cheered the participants.
