Visitors will not get a glimpse of the Golden Throne this Dasara

Mysore/Mysuru: Dasara season has now begun and Mysuru is in the process of being lit up and is full of people. More tourists are expected to come in till the end of the festival season. 

Taking an initiative to welcome tourists who have already landed in Mysuru on World Tourism Day today, the Mysuru Travels Association, Hotel Owners Association, Karnataka Tourism Department, Mysuru Palace Board and all other Tourism Department fraternity had organised a ‘say it with flowers’ event this morning where flowers and sweets were handed over to visitors. 

The event was held near Varaha Gate of the Mysore Palace

and titular head of Mysore royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar did the honours by handing over flowers and sweets to over 70 tourists. 

In a formal chat with reporters, Yaduveer said that preparations for a traditional Dasara were on inside the Palace. During the course of the conversation, he said that due to COVID and as a precaution, tourists will not be allowed to view the gem-studded Golden Throne this time. “A decision has been taken not to allow tourists to view the Golden Throne due to the pandemic. I cannot reveal further details  regarding this,” he said. 

When reporters posed more questions, Yaduveer told them that the Mysore Palace Board would give more details on the Golden Throne restrictions and also regarding rumours that the famed and traditional ‘Vajramushti Kalaga’ would be cancelled this time too. 

He, however, welcomed the tourist arrival after a long gap. “Mysuru tourism sector is recovering and people are slowly becoming confident of visiting places of tourist interest. Vaccination and awareness has increased the confidence levels,” he said. 

Federation of Organisations and Associations President B.S. Prashanth urged the State Government to reserve a major percentage of the seats of this year’s Jumboo Savari exclusively for tourists. 

“The Palace can accommodate more than 2,000 people and year-on-year, the VIP places are always occupied by politicians and their followers. This year, tourists and the people who drive the country’s travel industry must get a chance to watch the event from a close range. This can help immensely in promoting tourism that has been badly hit,” he said. 

Taking objection to the State Government’s move to shift four elephants from Mysore Palace, Prashanth said that the Forest Department must desist from doing so. “Palace and elephants have a bond and the Government is breaking it which is not a good sign. The Government, instead of splurging money on unnecessary things, must fund the Mysore royal family to take care of the elephants instead of shifting them to Gujarat,” he added. 

Mysuru Hotel Owners Association President C. Narayanagowda, Assistant Director of Tourism Department H.B. Raghavendra, Mysuru Travels Association President C.A. Jayakumar, Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya, World Tourism Day Celebration Committee Chairman A.N. Aiyanna and others were present.