Yathindra serves breakfast to Dasara mahouts, reviews festival preparations

Mysuru district in-charge Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Monday served breakfast to the mahouts and kavadis accompanying the Dasara elephants, along with their family members, at the Mysuru palace premises. He also handed out kits containing essential items to the families.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Yathindra said preparations for Mysuru Dasara 2026 were moving ahead briskly. High-level Dasara committee meetings and a high-power committee meeting chaired by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar had already been held to review the arrangements, he said, adding that Ministers had been given charge of overseeing programmes on different days of the festivities. Sub-committee meetings had also been convened to ensure that events from the inauguration to Vijayadashami ran smoothly.

On the controversy over the choice of the Dasara inauguration, the Minister said the Kannada and Culture Minister had discussed the matter with the proposed chief guest and secured consent before extending the invitation.

Dr. Yathindra said road works on major routes in Mysuru would be temporarily halted until the festivities concluded, so that tourists did not face inconvenience, and that alternative traffic routes would be arranged. Welfare arrangements for mahouts and kavadis were being made as in previous years, with responsibilities assigned for their care and for the smooth conduct of the festival, he added.

On the state's guarantee schemes, he said the government was spending about ₹52,000 crore a year on them and would not discontinue any, in keeping with its promise to the people.

Later, the Minister visited the temporary school set up for the children of mahouts and kavadis during their stay in Mysuru for Dasara. He interacted with the children, asked about their education, distributed school bags and urged them to pursue their studies with interest and confidence. He also watched a dance performance by the children and praised their talent, saying the government was committed to providing the facilities needed so that the families did not face difficulties in continuing their children's education during the Dasara season.

The Minister subsequently released posters for Yuva Dasara, Raitha Dasara, Yoga Dasara, Kambala and the pet animals' exhibition.

MLA G.T. Deve Gowda, MLC D. Thimmaiah, H.D. Kote MLA Anil Chikkamadu, Karnataka Exhibition Authority chairman Ayub Khan, State Guarantee Schemes Implementation Authority vice-chairperson Pushpa Amarnath, Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, Zilla Panchayat CEO S. Yukesh and Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baladandi were among those present.