Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to confer ‘Basavashri-2026’ awards tomorrow

Mysore/Mysuru: A grand and colourful procession marked the beginning of the two-day Basava Jayanti celebrations, organised under the joint aegis of Mysuru District Basava Balagagala Okkuta, Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha and a host of other Veerashaiva-Lingayat Associations and organisations in city this morning.

Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti launched the procession at Basaveshwara Statue near JSS Mahavidyapeetha, in the presence of Suttur Mutt Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Swamiji and several other Seers.

The procession, in which hundreds took part, was accompanied by a host of folk and cultural troupes including Nandi Dhwaja, Puja Kunita, Dollu Kunita, Lingadheera Kunita etc. The procession also featured two specially decorated sarots, each carrying a statue of Basaveshwara, two tableaux carrying pictorial scenes of Basavanna’s 12th Century Anubhava Mantapa, Basava Ratha, portraits of contemporaries of Basavanna, Vachanakaras, Philosophers  and a host of artistes, with some of them on horses,  moving  along  performing their skills (Huli Vesha, Veeragase etc.).

The procession passed through Shivarathri Rajendra Circle, Basaveshwara Circle, New Sayyaji Rao Road, MCC Main Office, K.R. Circle, D. Devaraj Urs Road, JLB Road, Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa Circle (Hotel Metropole Circle) and Vinoba Road, before culminating at Kalamandira, where the stage programme of the event will take place later in the evening today and from the morning tomorrow.

Later in the afternoon today, a health check-up camp was held at Kalamandira, followed by inauguration of  an expo of Vachana Paintings by senior artist L. Shivalingappa. 

CM in city tomorrow

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will arrive in city tomorrow (Apr. 20) on a two-day visit to Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.

Siddaramaiah, who will leave Bengaluru at 11 am tomorrow, will arrive at Mysore Airport at 11.25 am. He will later take part in Basava Jayanti inauguration  and ‘Basavashri-2026’ award presentation programme at Kalamandira on Hunsur Road.

Thereafter, he will leave for Hunsur by road at 2.15 pm and take part in Sri Ganapathy Temple inauguration and felicitation programme  organised under the aegis of Taluk Kurubara Sangha at Kanaka Bhavan, Hunsur. He will return to Mysuru at 5.45 pm and stay overnight in city.

On Apr. 21, the CM will fly from Mysore Airport by a helicopter at 11 am for Gundlupet in Chamarajanagar and will land at the helipad in front of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan at Gundlupet.

Subsequently, he will take part in the inauguration of multi-lake water feeding project (110 water bodies in Gundlupet) at a programme to take place at D. Devaraj Urs Stadium in Gundlupet town at 11.20 am.

He will leave Gundlupet by helicopter at 1 pm and land at Periyapatna Taluk Sports Stadium at Periyapatna at 1.30 pm. He will later travel to Parekoppal (Periyapatna-Habatur Road) in Periyapatna, where  he will lay foundation stone/ inaugurate a slew of development projects totally estimated at Rs. 419.78 crore at a programme organised by Mysuru Dist. Administration & ZP.

The CM will depart from Periyapatna helipad at 4 pm and land in Mysore Airport at 4.20 pm. After completing his other engagements in city, the CM will leave for Bengaluru from Mysore Airport at 6 pm, according to itinerary issued by K. Chiranjivi, Officer on Special Duty to CM.