Mysuru: Looks like the Congress government headed by Chief Minister Siddharamaiah is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that its policies and programmes are reached to the public as the next Assembly elections are not far away. And to drive home the message, an LED display board has been installed at Curzon Park near the Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple in city.

The digital display board has been installed at a vantage point where onlookers can spare a moment or two to read the lines and see the related images that are flashed on the screen. According to officials, it is for the first time in India such a board to publicise government schemes has been installed.

The 10×16 digital board has been installed by the Department of Information and Publicity and has the capacity of displaying messages continuously for eight hours. The project was launched by Chief Minister Siddharamaiah on June 4. Similar boards have been installed at Hassan, Davanagere, Hubballi, Belagavi, Shivamogga and Mangaluru. The government plans to install such boards at all district headquarters.

In the city, the board has been installed in front of Kote Anjaneyaswamy Temple and in one session, government schemes and programmes are beamed for about 20 minutes. This apart, glimpses of Karnataka tourism and promos of development are shown along with information on how to avail the benefits of such schemes.

Snippets titled “People-friendly government and people-friendly policies” “Marching confidently towards fifth year” are being displayed at the spot that is constantly frequented by tourists and visitors. The boards have been set up through Public Private Partnership and the display controls have been given to a private company in Bengaluru that has a control over the content from there.

Speaking to Star of Mysore, Assistant Director of Information Department Raju said that the project was modelled on Public Private Partnership and e-tenders were invited from interested parties. The company that has bagged the project has    taken the responsibility of installing the LED board and displaying the content.

The Department pays a monthly rent of Rs. 16,000 for the company to maintain one board and the contract has been signed for 3 years. Once the contract expires, fresh tenders will be called, Raju said.

Prominent among the displayed programmes are the government’s flagship Anna Bhagya, health schemes for the poor, Ksheera Bhagya, Manaswini, IT investment schemes, Rajiv Arogya Bhagya, housing schemes, irrigation projects, drinking water projects, tourism and women-centric schemes.  Apart from these schemes, the board will be used to disseminate information on tourist attractions of the district, social and cultural messages, and important events. Even the respective district administrations can use the boards to provide local information.