Open street festival to mark world tourism day in Mysuru

Festival to be held on Devaraj Urs Road tomorrow

 Whenever there is talk about tourism in Karnataka, there is comparison with the promotion of the sector in states like Kerala. Fortunately, for the Karnataka Tourism department, the World Tourism Day, on September 27, coincides with the Dasara festivities in Mysuru.

For the first time, the Mysuru district administration and the Tourism department are organising an ‘Open Street Festival’ on the D Devaraj Urs Road on Wednesday, on the lines of a similar event organised in Bengaluru, to mark the Tourism Day. Bengaluru-based Phase 1 has been roped in to manage the event.

A series of events, such as cultural programmes, food mela, green and organic food mela will be the major attractions of the festival. According to the officials, no banned plastic materials will be used during the festival. Vehicular movement will be totally banned from 7 am to 9.30 pm on the entire stretch of the Devaraj Urs Road, from K R Circle up to the JLB Road Junction.

Deputy Commissioner D Randeep said, in an effort to re-position Mysuru as an all-year-round-destination for tourists, there are plans to host the ‘Open Street festival’ on particular days, throughout the year.

He said, the festival will showcase the city's heritage and culture. “The Devaraj Urs Road will don a carnival-like atmosphere. During the daylong celebrations, more than 15 activities, including painting and photography competitions, magic show, puppet shows, story-telling, cycling, skating, games for children will be held. There will be food stalls, with an array of eatables and food items, to cater to all food lovers. Traffic will be prohibited on the stretch during the day to allow revellers to celebrate freely, without the hassle of vehicular traffic,” he said.

Deputy Director for Tourism Janardhan said, this year’s World Tourism Day will focus on the theme ‘Sustainable Tourism – a Tool for Development’. “World Tourism Day is celebrated since 1980 on September 27, the day on which the Statutes of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) were enforced,” he added.