The project of developing ‘Mysuru Haat’, on the lines of Delhi Tourism’s ‘Dilli Haat’, at the Dasara exhibition grounds in Mysuru is before the State Cabinet as the Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) has sought a sum of ₹130 crore for building permanent structures on the premises for making the concept of 365-day exhibition a reality.
The exhibition grounds at the Doddakere Maidan in the heart of Mysuru is mainly used when the city hosts the Dasara festivities with the Dasara exhibition being one of the prime attractions of the annual celebrations.
However, after Dasara, the grounds lie mostly vacant and deserted with no events being held. Being in the heart of the city, the prime expo space can be better used, bringing much-needed revenue to the KEA. In this connection, the concept of having exhibitions or events for all 365 days in a year has been proposed and accordingly the KEA has started to work on it, holding expos whenever possible to keep the premises busy and occupied.
As part of its plan, the KEA had organized an expo for about 66 days before the onset of the third wave of COVID-19. However, after completing about 43 days, the expo had to be closed as a precautionary measure when the COVID-19 cases spiked in Mysuru.
Now that the cases are seeing a sharp decline, the KEA has decided to resume the expo from February 26 onwards. However, some exhibitors have vacated the place after the closure.
KEA Chairman Hemantha Kumar Gowda told The Hindu that the expo is being resumed and it will conclude after 23 days, since the original plan was to conduct the expo for 66 days. Though some exhibitors have vacated the place, others have stayed put hoping that the expo will resume. The amusement games are there for the entertainment of children, he said.
On the 365-day expo plan, Mr Gowda said the ongoing expo is part of the year-long expo plan which is being executed with the support from the government.
Also, the project of developing the expo grounds into “Mysuru Haat” on the lines of “Dilli Haat” is before the government as the KEA had submitted its proposal on this and it is before the State Cabinet. “The project involved about ₹130 crore. It needed Cabinet approval. In this connection, the DPR is being prepared, listing out the vision of the project. The project cost was reduced to facilitate the work considering the burden on the government over handling the pandemic from 2020,” he said.
Mr Gowda said he had talks with the Tourism Minister on the project since KEA comes under the Tourism Department.
About the response to the current expo, the KEA Chairman said the response was good before the third wave. “We have given a kick start to it again after making necessary arrangements. Not many are aware that it has resumed. Now with the decline in COVID-19 cases, the response is expected to be good,” he replied.
After the conclusion of this expo, a summer mela or festival has been planned and it is expected to start from March 27 or 28. “This is again to keep the expo grounds busy all through the year,” Mr Gowda added.
Mysuru has JSS Urban Haat on the lines of Dilli Haat, at Hebbal industrial area where the exhibitions are held almost throrughout the year.
