• 1,000 cards fly off the shelf; second batch of cards to be issued today
• Tickets to be made available for Jumboo Savari, Torchlight Parade

Jumboo Savari: 1,000 tickets of Rs. 1,500 each

Torchlight Parade: 1,000 tickets of Rs. 1,000 each; 2,000 tickets of Rs. 500 each

Mysore/Mysuru: Under pressure from the travel and tourism stakeholders who were demanding the Government to do more to promote tourism, the District Administration printed and issued 1,000 Gold Cards at 4 pm yesterday and by 11 pm, all the cards flew off the shelf. The authorities are now planning to issue the second batch of cards (number not specified) by today evening, sources said.

The Gold Cards, priced at Rs. 4,999 for a single card, were up for grabs at www.mysoredasara.gov.in and one person could buy just two cards.

The Gold Card gives access to Dasara programmes including the inauguration of the famed Jumboo Savari inside the Mysore Palace and there will be a separate seating enclosure at Torchlight Parade Grounds at Bannimantap.

The card gives one-time access to Mysore Palace, Mysuru Zoo, Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hill, Dasara Flower Show at Kuppanna Park, Dasara Exhibition at Doddakere Maidan, Rail Museum, St Philomena’s Cathedral and Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam.

Once the payment is made for the Gold Cards online, applicants can approach the Tourism Department inside the Mayura Hoysala Hotel premises on JLB Road to get the physical card. The e-mail confirmation of the payment and any identity proof can be submitted at the counters to obtain the physical cards.

As the demand for Gold Cards is high, the authorities are planning to issue the second batch of Gold Cards today and the details on the number of cards are not known yet. This time, the administration has chosen only online mode of payment to avoid people queuing outside the Gold Card issuing venues like it happened in the previous years.

The cards are in great demand and even Star of Mysore office was flooded with calls from tourists as far as Chennai seeking information about the Gold Card availability. A person can purchase only two cards and this is to stop misuse.

Apart from the Gold Cards that are priced at Rs. 4,999, the District Administration is also issuing tickets for Jumboo Savari and Torchlight Parade.

1,000 tickets costing Rs. 1,500 each  for Jumboo Savari and 1,000 tickets costing Rs. 1,000 each for Torchlight Parade will be printed. Also, 2,000 tickets of Rs. 500 each will be printed for Torchlight Parade.