The Forest Department has decided to keep the training of Dasara elephants within the premises of Mysuru palace upon their arrival here ahead of the scaled down annual festivities.
With the Jamboo Savari confined to the palace premises instead of the usual 4-km long route till Bannimantap in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the elephants would undergo training within the palace fortress and won’t be taken out of the palace as a precautionary measure.
The five elephants chosen for the Jamboo Savari would arrive here from their respective jungle camps a day before their grand welcome into the palace. The jumbos – Abhimanyu, Gopi, Vikrama, Cauvery and Vijaya – would be brought to Mysuru on October 1 and they would be accorded traditional welcome into the palace on October 2 after their overnight stay at the Aranya Bhavan.
It was earlier thought of bringing them directly to the palace on October 2 but the programme had been modified.
Abhimanyu has taken over the mantle from howdah elephant Arjuna and the 54-year-old tusker would be carrying the 750-kg golden ambari for the first time in the Vijayadashami procession. Arjuna had been retired from the task since it had turned 60 and jumbos of its age and above are not supposed to undergo any rigorous tasks.
Deputy Conservator of Forests Alexander told The Hindu that all arrangements are being made for bringing the elephants to Mysuru and the list of elephants besides the names of mahouts and kavadis had been sent to the district administration for their insurance cover.
Usually, the public come closer to watch Dasara elephants out of curiosity and also take their pictures when they are out on the streets for routine training. “To avoid crowding around the jumbos over the pandemic scare, we have decided to restrict all training within the palace premises,” he said.
Mr. Alexander said the mahouts and kavadis that accompany the jumbos would also be subjected to COVID-19 testing.
Also, unlike the past when family members of the mahouts and kavadis used to accompany them to Mysuru and remain in the palace premises until the festivities get over, only mahouts and kavadis would accompany the elephants this year and remain in temporary shelters put up on the palace premises. This measure is also being attributed to the pandemic scare.
Sub-committees
Meanwhile, the six Dasara sub-committees had been constituted for the ensuing festivities. They include sub-committees for illumination; hygiene and arrangements; tableaux; procession; cultural events and welcome and invitation.
The procession sub-committee is headed by Police Commissioner Chandragupta while ZP CEO Bharati will head the committee for conducting cultural events. The deputy Dasara special officers of the other sub-committees include MCC Commissioner Gurudatta Hegde (hygiene); Raju, Chief Project Officer, Mysuru ZP (tableaux); Manohar Bevinamarad, MD, CESC (illumination); and B.S. Manjunathaswamy, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mysuru (welcome committee).
Deputy Commissioner Sharath constituted the sub-committees for the festivities which commence on October 17.
