Kodagu Utsav postponed again for paucity of fund

The programme cancelled for 14th time may take place in November

At a meeting held under the presidentship of Zilla Panchayat President Ravi Kushalappa, it was decided to postpone the utsav to November. The utsav committee members said that the funds available with the district administration to organise Kodagu district utsav will not be sufficient to hold the utsav. Hence, it was decided to postpone the utsav.

Speaker K G Bopaiah, MLA Appachu Ranjan, District-in-Charge Minister C H Vijayashankar had decided to hold the utsav with grandeur in a preparatory meeting recently. In fact, with regard to district utsav, the organisers had convened several meetings in the last one month. The last Kodagu district utsav was held in 1996-97 when Janata party was in power. The then District-in-Charge Minister M C Nanaiah had taken keen interest in organising the utsav grandeously. Siddaramaiah and other senior leaders had taken part in the utsav procession, said Utsav committee president T P Ramesh.

As part of the Kodagu district utsav, it was decided to highlight the rich culture and tradition of the district, and to honour those who had achieved success in sports, cinema, folkarts and other art forms. The utsav also aimed at showcasing the lifestyle, food habits and other rituals in Kodagu, he added.

Paucity of funds

The utsav committee members said that the district administration has Rs 20 lakh. The funds are not sufficient to carry out two-day utsav.

In the recently held preparatory meeting, welcome, procession, finance, lodging, exhibition, publicity and cultural committees were constituted. When all the committees made an estimate for the utsav, the estimate went up to Rs 45 lakh. There was shortage of Rs 25 lakh. As the utsav date was fast approaching, it was impossible to raise funds from the state government. Hence, it has been postponed by six months.