The Forest Department has requested the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), Mysuru, to illuminate the Dasara procession route – from the Chamaraja Circle to Bannimantap – six days before the festivities commence for familiarising the Dasara elephants to the illuminated surroundings.
As this year’s Jamboo Savari inaugural ‘muhurtha’ is in the evening and the elephants have to return to the palace after dark (around 8.30 p.m. onwards after the completing procession), the forest authorities suggested the CESC to get the route illuminated in advance to acquaint the jumbos to the bright lights.
The CESC had also requested that the wires should be 22 ft above the road on the route and there should not be any bending cables.
Deputy Conservator of Forest V. Karikalan had requested CESC to illuminate the route from September 19. However, CESC has now decided to illuminate the procession route from September 23, three days before the festivities.
“We cannot take out elephants on some days during Dasara in connection with some rituals inside the palace. To ensure that the jumbos get familiarised with the bright lights, we requested CESC to light up the route five to six days in advance,” said Mr Karikalan.
Meanwhile, a meeting was held at the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on Thursday which was attended by Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, Deputy Commissioner Bagadi Gautham, CESC Managing Director Jayavibhavaswamy and engineers from the CESC to discuss the Dasara illumination plans.
Mr. Jayavibhavaswamy said CESC had planned illumination on a 124-km distance in the city. The illumination would begin at 7 p.m. and conclude at 10.30 p.m., he said.
As this year’s Dasara procession would start after 5 p.m., the procession had to travel under lights till Bannimantap. The lights would be 22 ft above the road to facilitate the movement of procession, according to CESC.
Though the celebrations were low-key last year due to COVID-19, the Dasara illumination did not lose its lustre as CESC put up a reasonably good show, illuminating the streets and junctions amidst the scaled-down festivities. This year, CESC wants to make illumination bigger, brighter and expansive with the celebrations returning to its original charm after two years due to pandemic.
According to CESC, 124 km of roads and streets and 961 junctions will be specially illuminated with LED bulbs. Last year, the illumination was done on 110 km of roads and 89 circles.
Illuminations featuring Puneeth Rajkumar and Central Vista Avenue building model are among the highlights this year.
The CESC is expecting that the illumination would consume more power this year with newer features and expansive lighting. Last year, 1.35 lakh units of power was consumed, and a sum of ₹4.37 crore was spent on the illumination. The CESC has invited sponsorship of the illumination.
