The annual Dasara exhibition, which is a major attraction of the Dasara festivities, will be thrown open to the public about 15 days before the inauguration of Dasara festival on September 26 this year.
Speaking to reporters after the ceremonial welcome of the Dasara elephants at the Mysuru palace on Wednesday, Minister for Cooperation S.T. Somashekar, who is also the Minister in charge of Mysuru district, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has issued instructions to the officials at the recent Dasara High Power Committee meeting to ensure that the Dasara exhibition is opened 15 days before the start of the festival as usually most of the stalls are not ready by the time the exhibition is inaugurated.
When the Dasara exhibition is inaugurated on the first day of the festival every year, empty stalls have been greeting the visitors. Though the officials and elected representatives have been assuring the public that they will ensure that the stalls are up and running by the time the exhibition is inaugurated, little had changed. However, the newly appointed Chairperson of Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) Srinivas Gowda has begun making the necessary preparation to ensure that the stalls are ready 15 days in advance this year, said Mr. Somashekar.
KEA Chief Executive Officer Rudresha K. told The Hindu that all steps will be taken to ensure that the government pavilions are ready in time. “We will convince even the commercial stalls to be ready before the start of the festivities”, he said.
The Dasara exhibition could not be held during 2020 and 2021 due to restrictions on account of COVID-19 pandemic. The last Dasara exhibition was held in 2019, he said adding that the KEA was looking forward to holding it this year.
The Dasara Exhibition features about 50 to 60 pavilions set up by various departments of the State Government. About 200 commercial stalls that feature a variety of items ranging from pottery and handicrafts to products from various cooperative weaving societies from Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and other parts of the country, and household and consumer items from different parts of the country will also be available.
The exhibition also features a food court with 40 to 50 kiosks selling a variety of eatables and an entertainment section offerring rides to the public.
Mr. Rudresha said the KEA has already floated a global tender, fixing a minimum bid of ₹8 crore for stalls, entry and parking. The last date for submitting bids is September 7.
The Dasara exhibition, which remains open for around 90 days, was visited by around 11 lakh people during 2018 and around 11.5 lakh people during 2019.
