Celebrations of the Kittur Utsav, the annual feast on the birth anniversary of Rani Channamma, the dowager queen of the British era kingdom of Kittur, was toned down in Kittur on Friday in view of the COVID-19 situation. However, precautions, including social distancing and wearing masks, were not followed during the celebrations.
The three-day festival was reduced to a one-day event this year. The number of artistes to perform along with the rally was reduced to a few and cultural programmes such as songs and dances were not performed on stage.
MLA Mahantesh Dodagoudar, Deputy Commissioner M.G. Hiremath, seers of local mutts and others garlanded the statue of Rani Channamma on the intersection of the Pune-Bengaluru National Highway.
The district administration had invited some descendants of the Kittur Desai family that Rani Channamma belonged to. The officers and guests welcomed the Veer Jyoti lamp that is taken around the district before every Kittur Utsav.
A procession was taken through the main streets of the town. A huge crowd gathered to watch the procession. A large section of the people who gathered did not wear masks nor did they follow social distancing.
At Kakati, the birthplace of Rani Channamma, Police Commissioner K. Thiyagarajan joined Mr. Hiremath in the celebrations.
The officers, along with some descendants of Rani Channamma’s maternal family, garlanded the statue of the queen in front of the gram panchayat.
