Mysuru: There was complete hush in the air today as the 83rd Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya  Sammelana came to an end.  But a different kind of activity was seen this morning with MCC workers wearing bright-coloured vests cleaning the venue.Over the three-day event, nearly 110 tonnes of waste was generated. Out of which 90 tonne was dry waste and the remaining 20 tonnes was wet waste.

Mysuru City Corporation Health Officer Dr. D.G. Nagaraju, speaking to Star of Mysore said that 100 pourakarmikas were working in two shifts every day to clear the waste.

Even as nearly four lakh delegates left the city, the pourakarmikas were busy trying to restore normalcy and make the city spick and span. “The use of plastic was completely banned and only plantain leaves and areca leaf plates were used to serve food. In spite of this strict ban, a few plastic covers of biscuits and chips packets were found,” he said.

Apart from the event venue, there were 31 other places in city including that had to be cleaned as the delegates  were housed in these places. Here too pourakarmikas have been busy at work.

4 days to pack up !

It will take nearly four days to completely dismantle the Mahamantapa in the Maharaja’s College Grounds where German technology was used to put up the water-proof structures.

Cranes have been brought in to move the tents.  It is expected that it will take over a day to dismantle and move hundreds of light fittings, fans and carpets.

This Sammelana was held after a gap of 27 years in the city. It is also interesting to note that it was being held in Mysuru exactly 100 years as the first one in Mysuru held in 1917 when the then Vice-Chancellor of University of Mysore H.V. Nanjundayya was the President of the Sammelana. It also hosted the first Vishwa Kannada Sammelana    in 1986.

For four days, Mysuru was agog with different dialects of Kannada renting the air as nearly four lakh people from different parts of the State and country participated in the Sammelana. Delegates wearing red and yellow shawls, holding Kannada flags and singing Kannada songs, was a common sight.

Looking back: The main stage, Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar mahamantapa was where most of the action was with the inauguration and the seminars being held there. Right next to it was the book pavilion, which was choc-o-block with bibliophiles on all the three days.

The dining area on the hockey grounds for VIPs, the food stalls in Scouts and Guides Grounds opposite to the DC office where mouth watering dishes were served all added to the festive atmosphere that a Sammelana is always known for.

The other three stages like the Maharaja’s College Centenary Hall and Kalamandira was also a beehive of activity as litterateurs, poets and scholars put forth their ideas and argued about all the subjects related to life, politics and literature.