This story is from December 24, 2014

Boating fest will allure visitors at Karanji Lake from December 26

The Mysore district administration wants it to be Dasara all year round.
Boating fest will allure visitors at Karanji Lake from December 26
MYSURU: The Mysore district administration wants it to be Dasara all year round. The tourist hub is to be rebranded as a 365-days-a-year destination. The administration is teaming up with the Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK) to replicate the magic of the festive season throughout the year.
ZAK is hosting a boating festival at the picturesque Karanji Lake from December 26.
The three-day Vihar Utsav is an opportunity for the visitors to take a boat ride in the lake located at the foothills of Chamundi Hills. It is extending discounts for adults and children to get them to visit the lake when they are in the city this festival season. Given that the Utsav is scheduled during the extended holiday season, it is likely to attract travelers in hordes.
B P Ravi, executive director of the Mysuru Zoo, said the Vihar Utsav is part of the Mysuru Utsav, the tourism promotion activity undertaken by the district administration. The charges for the ride are Rs 20 for adults and Rs 10 for kids, Ravi said.
The district administration is also hosting various other events as part of Mysuru Utsav starting from Christmas Day.
During the Dasara season, DC C Shikha had tasked Ravi to work out details for a single-ticket entry pass system, designed to cut down the time taken to get entry tickets at places of tourist interest in the city and its surroundings. The single-ticket entry pass was aimed to promote Mysore as a tourist-friendly city and was a major hit among the Dasara visitors as it offered travelers to buy a ticket and access the zoo, the KRS dam, the Mysuru Palace and the Chamundi Hills with it. Stakeholders in the tourism sector had argued for its introduction, pointing out that it added to Mysore's brand and would go a long way in promoting the city as tourist friendly place.

The Shikha-led district administration worked with the tourism department plans to host cultural events at tourist spots to entertain weekend visitors well after the Dasara festival. The weekend cultural fest kicked off on October 19 and at the Balarama Gate of the Mysuru Palace and moved to the Dasara Exhibition Grounds. The events attract thousands of visitors during the weekends.
The Vihar Utsav at Karanji Lake is part of the initiative to brand Mysuru as an all-year destination. The event also includes heritage walks, adventure sports like walking from the foothills of Chamundi hills to the hill shrine. An all-woman band from Switzerland is scheduled to perform at the Balaram Gate of the Mysuru Palace as part of the carnival.
Karanji lake attracts 1,000 visitors a day. During 2013-14, it attracted 3.19 lakh visitors, raising Rs 73.21 lakhs in revenue for the zoo.
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