In a span of 90 days, as many as 15 lakh people visited the Dasara exhibition in Mysuru.
The exhibition began on the day when the Dasara festivities got off to a grand start last year and concluded on Friday.
“This year’s exhibition has been a big success as over 15 lakh footfalls have been recorded since the start,” said MLA Srivatsa.
Speaking at the valedictory of the exhibition organised by the Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) here, he said the exhibition is one of the prime attractions of the festivities and people from far-away places visit the expo that is known for its diversity and amusement. “I think it’s a successful expo. I’m told the business for the stalls was good and the stall owners made good revenue.”
On the occasion, prizes were distributed to the exhibits put up by the State government, the Union government, boards and corporations and the Zilla Panchayats.
The crowds used to swell during weekends and public holidays.
KEA CEO Rajesh Gowda and Joint Director of Kannada and Culture Balavanth Rao Patil and the department heads were present.
The exhibition grounds are mainly used when the city hosts the Dasara festivities with the exhibition being one of the major attractions of the annual celebrations. However, after Dasara, the grounds lie mostly vacant with no events being held. The prime expo space in the city centre can be better used, bringing continuous revenue to the Karnataka Exhibition Authority located in Mysuru. The concept of holding exhibitions or events for all 365 days in a year was proposed for keeping the premises busy and occupied.
The project of developing ‘Mysuru Haat’, on the lines of Delhi Tourism’s ‘Dilli Haat’, at the exhibition grounds was proposed when the BJP government was in power. But the project did not make any progress as a sum of ₹130 crore was sought for building permanent structures on the premises for making the concept of 365-day exhibition a reality.
