The forthcoming Dasara festival to be celebrated from September 26 to October 5 will revert to its pre-COVID-19 scale in terms of the number of events to be held and the promotional drive to be taken up by the authorities.
At a meeting held in the city on Saturday, it was announced that Aahara Mela or Food Mela which is popular among the public, will be held at two venues – at the Scouts and Guides Ground behind the DC’s office and at the Lalitha Mahal Palace grounds.
This is based on the feedback from the stakeholders, including those in the hospitality sector. There was a demand for extending the timings of Aahara Mela as well so that more people could savour the culinary delights from across the country. Till the previous full-scale Dasara held in 2019, the Aahara Mela would conclude by 9.30 p.m. or 10 p.m. and there was a demand to extend the timings till 11 p.m this year.
Deputy Commissioner Bagadi Gautham who chaired the meeting said that a final decision on the issue could be taken up in the subsequent meetings of the various sub committees constituted to organise the festival.
The Deputy Commissioner also announced that a Dasara run for 21 km was being contemplated for this year’s festivities besides a 10,000 metre run and a 5,000 metre run.
‘’Most cities have their own marathon and going forward the Dasara run could be upgraded to a full-fledged 42 km marathon to be promoted at national and international levels’’, he said. The corporates would be encouraged to sponsor the event.
Mysuru ZP CEO R. Poornima said that Dasara cultural programmes will be held across eight venues in the city underlining the broadening scope of the festival.
This year’s festival is being held after a gap of two years and hence the authorities are taking it up as a fulcrum to promote tourism as well. The KSTDC has announced a slew of packages, including Mysuru local sightseeing, a one-day package covering Somanathapur-Talakad-Mudukuthore-Shivanasamudra, Bylakuppe Golden Temple-Kaveri Nisargadhama-Raja Seat at Madikeri-Abbey Falls-Bhagamandala-Talacauvery-Dubare, Nanjangud-Himmavad Gopalswamy Betta-B.R.Hills, as part of the 13 circuits conceived by it.
