Mysore/Mysuru: Mysore Palace, the centre of attraction this Dasara, was abuzz with activities this morning as  workers were busy installing elephant models and painting images of elephants and the royal emblem Gandaberunda. 

The work on installing six metal elephant structures with floral foam bricks placed on them and tempering them with water was going on. These structures will be adorned with variety of flowers tomorrow and also two days before the commencement of Navarathri (Oct. 17).

The elephant models will be kept on either side of Jayamarthanda Gate from where the Dasara elephants will enter the Palace on Oct. 2. Flower pots are also being arranged to decorate the Palace premises for the festival. Meanwhile, five Dasara elephants — Abhimanyu, Gopi, Vikram, Kaveri and Vijaya — which were selected to take part in this year’s simple Dasara is set to arrive in city tomorrow.  They will be housed at Aranya Bhavan in Ashokapuram for a day where their health check-up would be conducted. 

The Dasara elephants would usually march from Aranya Bhavan to the Palace, but this year, they would be brought to Palace in trucks to prevent people from crowding amid COVID-19.