<p>Jnanapith awardee Girish Karnad will inaugurate this year’s Mysore Dasara celebrations, scheduled to begin on September 25.<br /><br /></p>.<p>This was decided at a meeting of the high-level committee on Dasara, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in the city on Saturday.<br /><br />It was noted that a precedent was set in 2013, when Jnanapith awardee Dr Chandrashekara Kambara inaugurated the celebrations, making Karnad the ‘obvious’ choice for 2014.<br /><br />Siddaramaiah announced that the Dasara celebrations in Mysore, this year onwards, will be plastic-free. <br /><br />“We are issuing orders to ban the use of plastic in Mysore for the Dasara celebrations, at tourist destinations across the City. This will apply to Mysore palace, Jaganmohan palace, Chamundi Hills, Bannimantap, etc,” said Siddaramaiah.<br /><br />Acceding to a demand by Pushpa Amarnath, the Mysore Zilla Panchayat president, the chief minister said the government will ensure that plastic ban will be enforced this year onwards.<br /><br />Earlier, the issue was raised by local MLAs and the MP, who said Mysore sees increase in garbage collection during Dasara. <br /><br />It is estimated that close to 600 tonnes of garbage is collected during the festival period. <br /><br />In a move to ensure that people do not face ticketing hassles at tourist destinations, the government will issue a single pass/ticket for their convenience on a daily basis or for a period of 10 days. <br /><br />The passes will be valid for visiting the Mysore Palace, Mysore zoo, Bannimantap, Chamundi Hills and Jaganmohan palace.<br /><br />“The single ticket will help the people enjoy the festivities without the trouble of procuring tickets at every location,” said Siddaramaiah. The government is likely to spend Rs 12 crore for this year’s festivities, up from Rs 10 crore in 2013. <br /><br />The Dasara committee appealed to the chief minister to prevail upon the Finance department to release an additional Rs five crore towards arrangements for the festivities. <br /><br />An amount of 1.75 crore was sought for organising sports events during the Dasara festivities.<br /><br />Siddaramaiah promised that there will be no dearth of funds for the grand event. The chief minister said that the Mysore Urban Development Authority will asphalt the roads and concretise the path taken by the Dasara procession.<br /><br />Siddaramaiah directed Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee to call a meeting of all departments to ensure that the stalls of departments at the Dasara exhibition are ready on the day of the inauguration.<br /><br />The chief minister said that cultural programmes will be organised in Mandya and Chamarajanagar also, during the 10-day celebrations.<br /></p>
<p>Jnanapith awardee Girish Karnad will inaugurate this year’s Mysore Dasara celebrations, scheduled to begin on September 25.<br /><br /></p>.<p>This was decided at a meeting of the high-level committee on Dasara, chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in the city on Saturday.<br /><br />It was noted that a precedent was set in 2013, when Jnanapith awardee Dr Chandrashekara Kambara inaugurated the celebrations, making Karnad the ‘obvious’ choice for 2014.<br /><br />Siddaramaiah announced that the Dasara celebrations in Mysore, this year onwards, will be plastic-free. <br /><br />“We are issuing orders to ban the use of plastic in Mysore for the Dasara celebrations, at tourist destinations across the City. This will apply to Mysore palace, Jaganmohan palace, Chamundi Hills, Bannimantap, etc,” said Siddaramaiah.<br /><br />Acceding to a demand by Pushpa Amarnath, the Mysore Zilla Panchayat president, the chief minister said the government will ensure that plastic ban will be enforced this year onwards.<br /><br />Earlier, the issue was raised by local MLAs and the MP, who said Mysore sees increase in garbage collection during Dasara. <br /><br />It is estimated that close to 600 tonnes of garbage is collected during the festival period. <br /><br />In a move to ensure that people do not face ticketing hassles at tourist destinations, the government will issue a single pass/ticket for their convenience on a daily basis or for a period of 10 days. <br /><br />The passes will be valid for visiting the Mysore Palace, Mysore zoo, Bannimantap, Chamundi Hills and Jaganmohan palace.<br /><br />“The single ticket will help the people enjoy the festivities without the trouble of procuring tickets at every location,” said Siddaramaiah. The government is likely to spend Rs 12 crore for this year’s festivities, up from Rs 10 crore in 2013. <br /><br />The Dasara committee appealed to the chief minister to prevail upon the Finance department to release an additional Rs five crore towards arrangements for the festivities. <br /><br />An amount of 1.75 crore was sought for organising sports events during the Dasara festivities.<br /><br />Siddaramaiah promised that there will be no dearth of funds for the grand event. The chief minister said that the Mysore Urban Development Authority will asphalt the roads and concretise the path taken by the Dasara procession.<br /><br />Siddaramaiah directed Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee to call a meeting of all departments to ensure that the stalls of departments at the Dasara exhibition are ready on the day of the inauguration.<br /><br />The chief minister said that cultural programmes will be organised in Mandya and Chamarajanagar also, during the 10-day celebrations.<br /></p>
