Hyderabad, Sep 7 (IANS): Police were put on high alert in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and other major towns of Andhra Pradesh Wednesday after a bomb blast near the Delhi High Court killed ten people.

Three platoons of policemen were deployed at the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Security was beefed up around the Nampally Criminal Court complex, other court buildings here in the capital and also at the assembly and secretariat complexes, places of worship and other important locations.

Bomb disposal squads were pressed into service.

As a precaution, police checked vehicles and frisked people.

All precautions are being taken in view of the ongoing Ganesh festival in Hyderabad and other cities, said a police officer. Armed policemen were deployed around Ganesh pandals.

Police were already on alert in Hyderabad following communal clashes in Adoni town of Kurnool district during the last few days.

According to police, over 40,000 Ganesh idols are installed in Hyderabad this year. The mammoth procession for the immersion of idols is scheduled to be taken out Sep 11.

Since the communally sensitive old city of Hyderabad has witnessed clashes during the festivities in the past, the police are not taking any chances. Over 10,000 policemen have already been deployed for the 10-day festival.

Security around the Tirumala temple in Tirupati was also scaled up.

Police launched random security checks at railway and bus stations.