The trial run of the special illumination of the city for Dasara is on with the engineers of the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), Mysuru, which has taken up the task of illuminating the city for 21 days from October 3, going through the arrangements that began sometime ago. The LED lights have been switched on over the last few days to ensure the workers have complied with the planned designs.
The illumination will spread over an area of 130-km within the city, covering 100 circles along with 65 artworks in lights. Prominent circles, including K.R. Circle, Chamaraja Circle and others looked impressive when the trial run was conducted on Sunday evening.
As usual, the grand green pandal on Sayyaji Rao Road with bright green lights will welcome the tourists.
Power consumption
The government is spending ₹6.5 crore on the illumination. A total of 2,881 kilowatts of power is expected to be consumed – 2,42,012 units of power has been estimated to be consumed during the 21-day illumination.
One of the new attractions of Dasara this year is a drone show in which 1,500 LED bulb-fitted drones will make different formations, lighting the sky. The show will be organised on October 6 and 7 and again on October 11 and 12 from 8 p.m. to 8.15 pm at the Torchlight Parade Grounds in Bannimantap. The show on October 6 and 7 will be free.
Minister in-charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa said, “The drone show is the new Dasara attraction. It will entertain the tourists with special shows.” The agency that did drone shows at Varanasi and Haridwar will be staging the show in Mysuru. As many as 10-15 formations will be presented.
Ambari buses
With the illumination being the major attraction, tourists, like last year, are expected to experience the illuminated city commuting on the open-top ‘Ambari’ double decker buses. KSTDC will be operating six Ambari buses this Dasara and bookings have already begun for the rides. The buses facilitate tourists glimpse the city coming alive in dazzling lights.
Ambari bookings are available online – for upper and lower decks – and the ride slots have been announced. Last year, the demand was more for the upper deck as the people wanted to commute on the rooftop to watch the lighting and the city’s magnificence. Ambari is a 40-seat bus and every commuter wants to travel on the roof to watch Mysuru. The effervescent and expansive Dasara illumination made Ambari popular among the tourists and the rides were in big demand and fully booked last year.
Each bus operated three trips starting at 6.30 p.m. daily during Dasara. Each ride took around 1 to 1.5 hours depending on the traffic. Only three trips have planned since the illumination is limited till 10.30 p.m. Each commuter is charged ₹500 for upper deck and ₹250 for lower deck.
Ambari is an initiative by KSTDC which introduced the specially-built double-decker buses for open-roof tours. These are very popular particularly during Dasara, as tourists go around the city to witness the lights and the city’s heritage buildings. On other days, there are not many takers for the rides and the buses are operated only if they get minimum bookings.
K.R. Circle all lit up in Mysuru on the occasion of Dasara. | Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram
Published - October 01, 2024 09:01 pm IST
