Elaborate preparations for Suttur fair from Feb 5

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to inaugurate the six-day Adijagadguru Sri Shivaratrishwara Shivayogi fair at Suttur in Nanjangud taluk on February 5.

Addressing a media conference at Suttur, on Monday, the organisers of the fair claimed that they were expecting 20 lakh devotees from all over Karnataka and also from neighbouring states to participate in the fair and hence had stocked 1,500 quintals of rice for mass feeding. Last year, a footfall of 14 lakh devotees had been recorded.

Chairman of the organising committee and ex-MLA H Gangadharan said, paintings expo ‘Chitra Santhe’ and ‘Digital Jathre’, a light and sound show depicting the history and development of the mutt, its seers and the institutions, would be the new additions this year.

“Chitra Santhe will be held on the lines of the one held at Bengaluru and aims to encourage artists. Around 2,000 artists are expected to be part of it. Besides, the laser show, visuals of the heritage and achievements of the mutt and its institutions will be played on a 60 ft X 40 ft screen,” he said.

Secretary of the committee Shivakumaraswamy said, five tonnes of pickles alone has been stored for mass feeding. “Already 10 lakh paper plates have been brought to the mutt premises and arrangements have been made for 5 lakh plantain leaves. While 150 quintals of boondi will be prepared, two lakh pieces each of laadu, Mysuru pak and coconut burfi will be made, besides quintals of pasayam,” he said.

All the students of the JSS institutions in Suttur have been trained for over a month by Mysuru-based Pathanjali Yoga Shikshana Kendra and they will demonstrate mass Shiva Namaskara and Durga Namaskara along with Surya Namaskara at 6.30 am on all six days of the fair and devotees can join them. Like previous years, an extensive exhibition of various aspects of the government and institutions and also commercial products; Krishi Mela, an exhibition-cum-demonstration for farmers; bhajans; various State-level competitions for children and also elders; rural sports and desi games; wrestling; cattle fair and competitions in animal husbandry; cultural programmes; Yakshagana; folk art; etc., will be part of the fair, Shivakumaraswamy said.

Over 600 folk troupes from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra will take part in the fair. Arrangements have been made for accommodation in temporary shelters for all those who work for the fair. Already 150 couples have registered for mass marriage and special arrangements will be made for them and their relatives. Apart from staging of plays in the evenings, boating and other recreation programmes have been organised.

Extra bus facilities will be provided from Mysuru, T Narsipur, Kollegal, Hunsur, KR Nagar, HD Kote, Gundlupet and Pandavapura. City buses from Bannimantap (Volvo buses), Kuvempunagar, Sathagalli and Vijayanagar depots will also be deployed for the benefit of devotees. Special buses will also be plied from Mysuru to Bengaluru to provide connectivity to other parts of the State and also to neighbouring states, said convenor of the committee Subbappa.