Mysuru: The 406th Mysuru Dasara festivities came to an end with the farewell to the 12 elephants which were the prime attraction of Dasara Jumbo Savari procession, here on Thursday morning.
The government spent over Rs 50 lakh on the elephants which were fed special nutritious food to prepare them for the procession and they gained a lot of weight during the 53 days of their stay in the City of Palaces. Arjuna gained 255 kgs, and his weight increased from 5615 kgs to 5870 kg. Balarama gained 650 kg, Gajendra, 600 kg, Abhimanyu, 435 kg, Vijaya, 215 kgs and Cauvery, 215 kg.
District minister Dr H C Mahadevappa and Mysuru DC Mr D Randeep fed jaggery and sugarcane to the pachyderms at the palace courtyard Thursday morning. Dr Mahadevappa said mahouts and kavadis had asked for a hike in their honorarium during his breakfast with them and it has been hiked from Rs 5,000 to Rs7,500.
Sannappa who performed the role of mahout of Arjuna-which carried the golden howdah- for the first time after his father Dodda Masthi passed away, said, “Though I was fearful initially, I am happy that I could complete the task successfully with the support of colleagues and officers of the forest department.”
After successful completion of their tasks, the pachyderms headed for their respective camps in different forest ranges.
Poor publicity to blame for low tourist inflow?
Members of Mysuru Tourism Forum have complained of inadequate publicity and promotion of Mysuru tourism and the Dasara festival, holding it responsible for the declining inflow of tourists from outside the state and foreign countries over the past four years.
There has to be a Dasara authority which can plan for Dasara round the year or else start preparations early and release the events list at least a month in advance so that foreigners can plan their trips. Also, there is no brand ambassador for Dasara. The entry tax is 40 percent higher compared to other states and with the heavy service tax for hotels, tourists are getting diverted to Sri Lanka and Thailand, they complained.
When District minister Dr H.C. Mahadevappa was contacted, he said “We will have a meeting with Mysuru tourism forum and tourism minister Mr Priyank Kharge, and will do our best to promote Mysuru tourism.”
