Minister favours for designing permanent logo for Dasara fest

District in-charge Minister H C Mahadevappa suggested some changes and invited ideas from district-level officials to organise Dasara in a systematic way. He also sought ideas on how to reach out to more tourists.

He was chairing a Dasara preparatory meeting here on Tuesday. “For the smooth conduct of the 10-day Dasara festivities, preparations should begin in advance. Instead of investing time and money on designing a logo for Dasara every year, a permanent logo should be designed and used in future. A decision would be taken in this regard at the Dasara High Power Committee meeting, scheduled to be chaired by Chief Minister Siddramaiah in Bengaluru in the second week of July. The Public Works department (PWD), Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) officials should expedite all road works to complete them well in advance before the beginning of the festivities,” he said.

The minister said that, “Every year, the Dasara exhibition opens with empty stalls. This should not repeat this year. Works on the renovation of the Town Hall and works on the parking plaza should be completed soon.”

Deputy Commissioner D Randeep said that, Gajapayana, the heralding of the start of the journey of the Dasara elephants from the forest, is a significant event and steps would be taken to attract tourists to witness the ceremony. “Last year a proposal for Rs 14.50 crore had been submitted to the state government by the district administration for the conduct of Dasara festivities. For this year, an estimate is yet to be drafted. UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik), the Centre’s scheme to provide regional air connectivity, is expected to take off before the commencement of the festivities. This will be convenient for tourists,” he said.

“Last year, a replica of the howdah elephant had been installed at Kempegowda International Airport to attract tourists. This year, similar replicas would be installed in the airports of all important cities of the nation and also in major railway stations. Like Palace on Wheels, which received a good response from tourists last year, innovative initiatives would be taken up to attract tourists,” Randeep said.

Some officials expressed that the Dasara sports meet had lost its sheen as national-level events have not been held for many years. So, it was decided to hold national kho-kho, hockey and kabaddi tournaments. Floodlit sports events can be tried, some officials suggested.

The DC mooted holding an Open Street utsav on the lines of the ones held in Bengaluru on Vijayadashami before the Jamboo Savari starts. He said vehicular traffic would be banned on D Devaraja Urs Road from 9 am to 9 pm on Vijayadashami for the utsav.

MLA Kalale Keshavamurthy, MCC Commissioner G Jagadeesha, MUDA Commissioner M Mahesh and DCP H T Shekar were present.