Mysuru: Like the good old Kannada saying Yudda Kaale Shastrabhyasa (Practicing with weapons at the time of war), the City of Palaces is still getting ready for Dasara festival, with the inauguration of annual fest less than a fortnight away, on Oct. 3.

The works on fixing potholes, repairing the footpaths and filling the gaps on the pavements are taken up at the last-minute, with the authorities planning the works at eleventh hour.

Mysuru Dasara attracts several lakhs of tourists, but the preparatory works are not planned in advance, like other major events in the country like — Maha Kumbha Mela at Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, Puri Jagannath Rathotsava in Odisha, Navarathri in West Bengal and Onam in Kerala — when the works are executed three months in advance and completed on time.

In contrast, the works to prepare the city to host Dasara are taken up a fortnight earlier. The works on repairing the footpath slabs around CADA Office on New Sayyaji Rao Road have been taken up only recently, along with laying of concrete surface around the trees in front of Thathaiah Park opposite City Bus Stand.

The dense growth of grass on the steps, on a stretch of Jumboo Savari route near Bamboo Bazaar, is also being removed and covered with concrete. The trunks of various trees that were lying on the footpath are also being cleared.

The potholes near Gun House junction, MCC and CADA Office are also being repaired, but with two weeks to go for Dasara to begin, many of the roads still remain to be asphalted. A stretch of road from Zoo to Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Circle (Hardinge Circle) is riddled with potholes, leading to minor accidents. But, such roads are not covered with asphalt for the convenience of the vehicle riders.