Minister In-charge of Mysuru district Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Monday served breakfast to the mahouts and kavadis accompanying the Dasara elephants and their family members at the Mysuru palace premises and distributed kits containing essential items to them.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Yathindra said preparations for Mysuru Dasara - 2026 were progressing at a brisk pace. Meetings of the high-level Dasara committees and a high-power committee meeting chaired by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had already been held to review the arrangements.
He said Ministers had been assigned responsibility for overseeing programmes on different days of the festivities. Meetings of the various Dasara sub-committees had also been held to ensure that all programmes, from the inauguration to Vijayadashami, were conducted smoothly.
Clarifying the controversy surrounding the choice of Dasara inauguration, he said the Kannada and Culture Minister had discussed the matter with the proposed chief guest and obtained consent before extending the invitation.
The Minister said works on major roads in Mysuru would be temporarily suspended until the Dasara festivities concluded to avoid inconvenience to tourists. Arrangements would also be made for alternative traffic routes, he added.
He said arrangements were being made, as in previous years, for mahouts and kavadis, with responsibilities assigned to ensure their welfare and the smooth conduct of the festival.
On the guarantee schemes, Dr. Yathindra said the State government was spending around ₹52,000 crore annually on the schemes and would not discontinue any of them, as promised to the people.
Later, the Minister visited the temporary school established for the children of mahouts and kavadis during their stay in Mysuru for the Dasara festivities. He interacted with the children, enquired about their education, distributed school bags and encouraged them to pursue their studies with interest and confidence.
He also watched a dance performance by the children and appreciated their talent. He said the government was committed to providing necessary facilities and ensuring that the families of mahouts and kavadis did not face difficulties in continuing the children’s education during the Dasara season.
The Minister later released posters for Yuva Dasara, Raitha Dasara, Yoga Dasara, Kambala and the pet animals’ exhibition.
MLA G.T. Deve Gowda, MLC D. Thimmaiah, H.D. Kote MLA Anil Chikkamadu, Karnataka Exhibition Authority chairman Ayub Khan, State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority vice-chairperson Pushpa Amarnath, Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, Zilla Panchayat CEO S. Yukesh, Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baladandi and others were present.
