Mysuru Dasara preparations are facing criticism over the government’s failure to appoint non-official members to the festival’s subcommittees, with tourism stakeholders, organisations and members of the public yet to be formally involved in planning the event.
The Dasara celebrations are scheduled to receive their official launch on October 11, and the countdown has begun. However, several programmes have reportedly not been finalised, leaving tourism-sector representatives concerned that the lack of an early and clear programme schedule could affect efforts to attract visitors from other districts, states and countries.
The preparations have so far been led largely by officials. Subcommittees have been formed for areas including reception, invitations and venue allocation, the procession and torchlight parade, tableaux, farmers’ or rural Dasara, sports, cultural programmes, fine arts, illumination, poetry, yoga, youth events, women and children’s programmes, food fairs, sanitation and arrangements, wrestling and kambala. According to the report, only deputy special officers, working presidents and secretaries have been appointed to these committees, and all are officials.
The delay in appointing non-official members has led to demands from public representatives and others that the government include them immediately. The stated concern is that consultations held after programmes have already been designed would leave committee members with little opportunity to influence decisions or present public views.
A leader quoted in the report said that appointments made before programmes are prepared would help bring public opinion into the planning process. Without that, the appointments could become nominal, with chairpersons, vice-chairpersons and members having little active participation.
C. Narayanagowda of the Mysuru Hotel Owners’ Association said the association and other organisations had not been invited for discussions. He said that making appointments at the last moment would have limited value and that the festival risked becoming an event designed only by officials rather than one in which the public was meaningfully involved.
The issue also has political and administrative dimensions. The report says dissatisfaction has been voiced among workers and leaders of the ruling Congress, while calls for the appointment of non-official members have continued without the government acting on them.
The dispute follows the pattern of previous years, when non-official members were appointed only after the programme list had been prepared. Earlier committees generally had between 30 and 60 members. In 2024, the government appointed 100 members, described in the report as a new record, and the number increased further in 2025. Some committees also had more than seven vice-chairpersons.
For a festival that depends on coordination between government departments, tourism businesses, cultural groups, local organisations and residents, the composition and timing of the committees directly affect how participation is organised. The immediate demand from stakeholders is for the government to appoint non-official members quickly and publish a clear outline of the remaining programmes before the October 11 launch.
