GO takes sheen off Dasara show in Shimoga

By Our Staff Correspondent

SHIMOGA OCT. 7. The much awaited Dasara on Sunday is likely to be a lacklustre affair following the reported refusal of the Forest Department to spare its elephants for the procession where the jumbos carry the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari.

However, the municipal administration, which is the main organiser of the function, is making frantic efforts to seek special permission from the Government to allow the use of the elephants of the Forest Department. It has also approached various religious institutions in the vicinity to explore the possibility of getting their elephants, but the response so far has not been positive.

Terming the decision of the Forest Department not to spare its elephants this time as disappointing, the Municipal Commissioner, Dr. K.N.Chandrashekar, told The Hindu today that the authorities of the Forest Department conveyed their inability to spare the elephants only two days ago when the Municipal administration had made all arrangements. He said that the ornamental clothing for the elephants was also ready for the occasion, he said.

The display of the panchaloha idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, which is placed in the howdah on the back of the elephant is the highlight of the procession. The procession is taken out from the Shivappa Naik Palace to Bannimantap in the Nehru Stadium.

It is stated that the Government Order passed in March this year disallowing the renting out of the departmental elephants for any function has come in way of the authorities of the Wildlife Wing of the Forest Department to make the jumbos available for the Dasara procession.

The Deputy Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Mr. Ashok Basarkod, told this correspondent that he had expressed his inability to the municipal authorities to spare the departmental elephants in view of the Government Order. He said he could reconsider his stand if the organisers brought a written permission from the higher authorities.

If the Forest Departments sticks to its decision, it would be the first time in recent times that the spectacular Dasara procession would be devoid of its main attraction.

Several people have expressed surprise over the refusal of the Forest Department to spare the elephants for the Dasara procession. They wondered how the Forest Department could allow its elephants to be taken in the Dasara procession at Mysore which is also a Government-sponsored programme as the one in Shimoga. "How can the Forest Department discriminate between Shimoga and Mysore when the spirit and intention of the show at both the places are to highlight the cultural splendour of the festival. If the presence of the elephants in the Dasara procession is allowed in Mysore it should be allowed in Shimoga too. The Forest Department should not apply different yardsticks to different places," they argued.

Dr. Chandrashekar said that if the last-minute efforts to secure the elephants from the Forest Department failed, the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari would be carried in a vehicle or the temple car although it was a major deviation from tradition.

It was stated that the municipal administration sought the intervention of the district administration on the issue, but it was of little help.

What appears to have prompted the Government to pass the order prohibiting the use of elephants on rental basis for any function is the mishap in Bangalore last year wherein an elephant taken in a procession became charged up by the sound of drum-beating and ran amok reportedly killing a person. It was stated that the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), citing this incident, recommended to the Government against the renting out of the departmental elephants for any function.

Meanwhile, preparations for the Dasara festivities are going in a full swing. The Dasara procession will be flagged off by the municipal president at the Shivappa Naik Palace after performing the poojas to the Nandi Dhwaj. Tableaux depicting the social cultural and religious facets of the district will be displayed at the procession which would be led by the drum-beaters, dollu kunita dancers.

The presiding deities of the major Hindu temples in the city are carried in the procession which would converge at the Nehru Stadium after passing through the main roads of the city. The Tahsildar performs the pooja to the Bannimantap after cutting the banana tree placed in the midst of the stadium in the evening.

It would be followed by the cultural programmes at the Shivappa Naik Palace.

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Section  : Southern States
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