1/11 Indian devotees take pictures as crane workers immerse a 58-foot (17-metre) idol in the Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad on 15 September.

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2/11 Volunteers are lowered on to a platform in Bangalore on 7 September.

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3/11 A few youths watch a woman praying near Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad on 15 September.

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4/11 An idol of Ganesh floats after it was immersed in an artificial pond on 6 September 6 in Mumbai.

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5/11 An Indian devotee carries an idol of elephant-headed Hindu god Ganesh for immersion at the Dadar Chowpatty beach on 10 September.

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6/11 An immersed idol in Mumbai. During Ganesh Chaturthi local communities put up public pandals for mass worship.

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7/11 Devotees carry an idol of Ganesha to immerse it in the Yamuna on the third day of Ganesh Chaturthi.

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8/11 A huge idol of Lord Ganesha is seen amidst a sea of devotees during its procession through heavy rain for an immersion in Mumbai on 15 September.

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9/11 Devotees carry an idol for immersion on the outskirts of Amritsar on 11 September.

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10/11 Devotees carry the Lalbaugcha Raja idol to Girgaon Chawpatty for immersion on the last day of Ganesh festival in Mumbai.

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11/11 Devotees immerse Ganesha idols on the Day 5 at Banganga Tank, Walkeshwar, Mumabi.

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Ganesh Chaturthi: 11 stunning images that capture the spirit of the festival

Sehar Qazi @CatchNews | Updated on: 15 September 2016, 21:24 IST

The 11-day Ganesh Chaturthi festivities culminated in grand colourful immersion processions across the country.

The Hindu festival is a celebration of Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, and devotees pray to him to get his blessings for their new ventures.

Also read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2016: Shilpa Shetty, Jubin Nautiyal & others on their favourite Ganpati festival

The festival hits headlines each year, primarily because of environmental concerns, but also because of the traffic and chaos that come hand in hand with the celebrations. Pollution has always been a sensitive subject when it comes to Ganpati celebrations - after the visarjans, idols are left strewn about everywhere and are left neglected.

Even so, the uproar only lasts so long, until the next Ganesh Chaturthi rolls around.

The festival is also a fabulous prospect for photographers, who manage to click gorgeous images every year of the colourful festivities across the country - particularly in parts of western and southern India where the festival is more popular.

Here\'s a look at some of the stunning images of this year\'s celebration.

Edited by Aleesha Matharu

More in Catch - How Tilak transformed Ganesh Chaturthi into a mass festival with a nationalistic fervour

There\'s a temple at the spot where Shiva cut off Ganesh\'s head. And no one cares