Hustle bustle is missing here

In all, about 10 lakh people visited Vishwa Tulu Sammelana in Ujire

Was this place that witnessed a turnout of 10 lakh people in the past four days? The very town that hosted the historical Vishwa Tulu Sammelana (World Tulu Convention) was in a confusion - whether it should believe that it was a meeting place of such a mammoth gathering till the previous night.

The town that heralded the pride of Tuluvas from December 10 to 13 was back to its normal life by Monday morning; but the scene there was a mix of total surprise and silence.

“It’s unbelievable. Large gatherings are not new to us since we are near Dharmasthala. We have seen mega events like Nadavali, Masthakabhisheka, Lakshadeepotsava etc but the Tulu Sammelana broke all records. We are proud that we have witnessed such a programme in our life,” said Raghavendra, a resident of the town. “The surprising fact is the ‘carrying capacity’ of this town. We had a different picture of Ujire in our mind before coming here with whatever information we had about its geography. But we wonder how this small town could manage such a large number of visitors. Everything went on so smooth,” said Sumanth, one among the delegates hailing from Hampi.

The sudden rush of crowd and vehicles to the little town had caused minor inconveniences on the second day of the convention but everything went proper in the next two days, even though the turnout doubled or tripled.

“There were at least 3,000 volunteers with us. Along with police, they efficiently managed the situation. The volunteers have done a wonderful job,” said Sridhar Bhat, the NCC (Navy wing) officer of SDM College, who was the security coordinator for the event.   The Food Committee has estimated that around seven lakh people have had their food during the four days. The organisers are yet to finalise the actual turn out, total expenses and get a clear picture of the functioning of various committees. “We have satisfaction in whatever we have done. Rest the people should say,” observed Venkatramana Hebbar, the local coordinator of the Food Committee.