Website on Dasara to be launched on Friday

The website of the Mysore Dasara festival 2014, which will provide access to some of the new facilities introduced for tourists this year, apart from other details of the festival, will be officially launched on Friday.

Speaking at a meeting, Deputy Commissioner and Dasara special officer, C Shikha, said Revenue Minister V Sreenivas Prasad would launch the website. She said a meeting will be convened shortly to discuss the issue of gold passes, which will provide access to all tourists centres around Mysore, and to other cultural programmes held during Dasara.

This year, there will be three kinds of tickets, which will provide entry to multiple tourist spots at concessional rates. The tickets will be sold at hotels and travel agencies and online. While tourists have to wait till the first week of September to buy tickets, they can book online from the last week of August.

The orange ticket for entry to two tourist spots – the Amba Vilas Palace and the Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens – will cost Rs 85 for adults and Rs 42 for children. The green ticket will allow entry to four spots – the Palace, Zoo, Karanji Lake and Chamundi Hills. The ticket will cost Rs 125 for adults and Rs 77 for children.

The blue ticket will allow tourists entry to six destinations, which include four allowed by the green ticket, plus Krishnarajasagar reservoir and Ranganathittu Birds Sanctuary. The blue ticket will cost Rs 160 for adults and Rs 100 for children.

For foreign nationals, the orange ticket will cost Rs 220 for adults and Rs 110 for children, the green ticket will cost Rs 260 for adults and Rs 150 for children, and blue ticket Rs 510 for adults and Rs 170 for children.

The validity of orange, green and blue tickets, booked online, will be one, two and, three days, respectively.

 Tourists who have booked e-tickets should mention the dates of their visits during booking and produce their identity cards upon visit.

The validity of printed tickets will be for a period of one month from September 15 to October 15. Tourists with these tickets could opt to visit the said tourist spots on any day during the period.