Despite the A(H1N1) influenza scare, the Karnataka government is doing its best to attract more domestic and international tourists to this year’s Dasara festivities in Mysore, which are slated to begin on September 19, Minister in-charge of Mysore district Shobha Karandlaje said here on Saturday.
“Hotels may not have got sufficient number of bookings from tourists like in previous years because of the swine flu scare. But, we have taken all measures to prevent the spread of the disease,” she told presspersons, after inspecting the Dasara preparations at various venues, including the Mysore Palace.
Ms. Karandlaje, who accompanied Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and her Cabinet colleagues to China recently, said that the Mysore Dasara and Hampi Utsav, the two important cultural pageantries of the State, were promoted during their visit, and the Chinese authorities were told about the cultural importance of the events.
“We are promoting Dasara in China through diplomatic channels, providing information about the events and also inviting the people to participate in the festivities. In fact, one of the objectives of our China tour was to promote tourism,” she said.
While expressing satisfaction over the Dasara preparations, the Minister said the remaining work would be completed soon. “We have more than a week’s time for the festivities to begin and all steps have been taken to make the event grand and memorable,” she said, and added that more programmes had been planned this time.
Army participation
She said the Army would participate in the Dasara festivities for the second consecutive year, and its participation this year would be big since Mr. Yeddyurappa had made a special request to Defence Minister A.K. Antony.
Deputy Commissioner P. Manivannan, Police Commissioner Sunil Agarwal, Palace Board Deputy Director P.V. Awaradi, Mysore Urban Development Authority Commissioner P.C. Jayanna, and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders B.P. Manjunath and Mohan were present.
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