Minister for Social Welfare H.C. Mahadevappa, also the Minister in charge of Mysuru district, said more than 10 lakh people had participated in the Dasara festivities in Mysuru this year.
Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Sunday, Mr. Mahadevappa said the Dasara festivities, which were held under the shadow of drought this year, were neither grand nor simple. “The Dasara celebrations were held in a traditional manner this year,” he said.
He also thanked the general public including the tourists, who followed the rules, and the officials of the district administration for ensuring a Dasara that witnessed no untoward incident. “It is a matter of pride that the Dasara celebrations were held successfully with people enjoying the festival with no untoward incident,” he said.
He said the illumination of the roads and junctions in Mysuru City will continue till November 5 though the Dasara festival concluded on October 24.
The illumination is not just about lights, he said adding that the decorative lighting put up at various places seeks to convey a social message. There are messages on harmony, independence, democracy, constitution, and Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s developmental programmes.
When his attention was drawn to the complaint by farmers’ bodies that the government was wasting power at a time when the farmers were denied sufficient electricity supply due to power scarcity gripping the drought-hit State, Mr. Mahadevappa said the bulbs used for illumination in the City were LED bulbs, which consume very little energy.
To reports in a section of the media over sharing of power for the Chief Minister’s post, Mr. Mahadevappa said the Chief Minister’s post was not vacant. He said Siddaramaiah was a democratically elected Chief Minister of the State and the post of Chief Minister was not vacant now.
