Spike in COVID-19 cases worries District Administration
Mysore/Mysuru: With a view to dissuade tourists from visiting Mysuru for ten-day Dasara festival which will begin from Saturday (Oct.17), the District Administration has ordered the closure of all important tourist spots around Mysuru from Oct. 17 till Nov. 1. This decision has been taken in view of spurt in COVID-19 cases in Mysuru City and District.
Speaking on Facebook live on Wednesday evening, Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri said accordingly, Mysore Palace, Mysuru Zoo and Srikanteshwaraswamy Temple in Nanjangud will be out of bounds for tourists. Since thousands of tourists from across the country will visit Mysuru during festivities, the District Administration has decided to close down all tourist places.
Enjoy at home
The DC has appealed people to enjoy Dasara by seeing all programmes online without taking risk of going to the venue. A three-member Technical Team has already recommended to the State Government to celebrate Dasara in a simple manner in view of spurt in Corona positive cases in the district.
The Nada Habba will be opened atop Chamundi Hill by Dr. C.N. Manjunath, Director, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research on Saturday.
On the same day evening, cultural programmes to be held in the Palace premises will be inaugurated. All programmes will be shown live and citizens can enjoy seeing at home.
Mandya: Rohini said she will request her Mandya counterpart to take similar step and order closure of all tourist places such as Brindavan Gardens, Nimishambha Temple, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Tipu Palace, Kokkarebellur Bird Sanctuary, Rangantittu Bird Sanctuary and other places till Nov. 1.
M. Lakshminarayan, Personal Assistant to Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, told Star of Mysore this morning that Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery will also be closed for general public from Oct. 17 to Nov. 1, as per orders of the State Government.
CM in City: The CM will be arriving here tomorrow evening by a special flight at 6.05 pm. Later, he will chair a meeting to review COVID-19 situation in which Ministers will attend. The CM will stay overnight in city and attend the Dasara inauguration on Saturday at 7.45 am. After the function, he will return to Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary T.M. Vijay Bhaskar has released the guidelines for Dasara celebrations and has made RT-PCR test compulsory for everyone who will participate in Dasara related programmes. Officials of various Departments, Police and media personnel must undergo COVID-19 test mandatorily and obtain ‘negative’ report from the Health Department. Those who refused to undergo test must not be allowed to any function held as part of Dasara. Fine should be imposed on those who will not wear mask and flout norms.
Kodagu district: The District Administration has decided to close all tourist spots only on Oct. 17 on account of Cauvery Theerthothbhava and Vijayadashami Day on Oct. 26. All other places will be opened on other days. Even there is no bar on home stays and resorts but they have been strictly told to follow safety norms.
What’s all closed
• Chamundi Hill
• Mysore Palace
• Zoo and Karanji Lake
• Nanjangud Temple
• Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery
This post was published on October 15, 2020 6:44 pm