Dasara illumination is back with a bang. After last year’s lull, the grandeur of lighting that brightens up the City of Palaces in all its magnificence is grabbing the eyeballs this year.
About 15-km stretch of roads (numbering 11) and as many as 40 circles, including the imposing ones positioned in the heart of the city, have been lit up with vivid colours setting the tone for this year’s celebrations.
This year’s illumination matches the scale of lighting done in 2014. In some places, the illumination looks much better. The illumination had to be scaled down last year as Sarala Dasara was celebrated owing to drought. The illumination was confined to the Raja Marga (the royal streets).
With the theme of this year’s Dasara being “Green,” the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) has used only LED lights for lighting purposes barring a small stretch on Sayyaji Rao Road and a part of the Jamboo Savari route, where incandescent bulbs that emit golden-colour light have been used based on public opinion.
The city lights up to the festive occasion daily after over one lakh bulbs at the iconic Mysuru palace are switched on.
The illumination begins at 7 p.m. and ends at 9.30 p.m., a CESC engineer told The Hindu . About 750 kW of electricity is expected to be utilised for the entire illumination during the festivities, he said, adding that in the past, illumination from incandescent bulbs consumed about 2,500 kW of power.
CESC is not spending much on lighting as illumination of 40 circles, including the major ones such as K.R. Circle, Sri Chamarajendra Wadiyar Circle and the newly-inaugurated Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Circle (formerly Hardinge Circle), have attracted sponsorships. Even circles in residential localities and also on the outskirts have drawn sponsors.
The illumination of circles have been designed in such a manner that it is not the same as previous years. D. Devaraj Urs Road, the shopping hub of Mysuru, where tourists spend a lot of time besides malls, has been artistically illuminated to enhance the festive mood.
However, a few residents feel that the illumination should be extended till 10 p.m. since people often move from one Dasara venue to another and also will be busy shopping.
But, CESC authorities said the lights are not switched off at one go at sharp 9:30 p.m. and the lighting is normally extended for about 10-15 minutes.
