Southern States - Karnataka   

Hampi Utsava gets off to a colourful start

By Our Staff Correspondent

HAMPI Nov. 3. Hampi Utsav, a three-day mega cultural festival of dance drama and music, got off to a colourful start on Monday.

The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, and his Ministers, including G. Parameshwar, Allum Veerabhadrappa, Rani Satish, Mallikarjun Nagappa, M. Diwakar Babu, the former Governor, V.S. Rama Devi, Kolur Basavanagouda, MP, K.C. Kondaiah, MLC, and others were given a traditional welcome with ``poorna kumbha kalasa''. They were led to the Purandhara Vedike, the main venue, in a procession to the accompaniment of a traditional band. Several folk artistes in their traditional attire gave a dance performance.

Ms. Rama Devi lit the lamp while Mr. Krishna offered flowers to Bhuvaneshwari to mark the inauguration of the utsav.

K.J. Yesudas rendered a Carnatic classical vocal recital.

Mr. Krishna said the utsav was meant not only to revive the rich culture and tradition of the place but also to bring to the present generation the glorious past of the land.

Stating that Hampi had immense tourist potential and had attracted both domestic and foreign tourists, Mr. Krishna said efforts were on to develop the historically, culturally and traditionally important Hampi as a major tourist destination. Infrastructure would be provided, he promised.

Mr. Krishna said that organising such utsavs would give a boost to economic activities in the area. Such cultural festivals could be best organised in association with private sponsors as had been done during the Mysore Dasara. He was confident that Hampi would attract a large number of tourists if such colourful cultural festivals were organised. He called upon the people to enjoy the cultural programmes organised here.

Mr. Allum Veerabhadrappa, Minister for Information, reiterated that the utsav, which was being held after two years, would be organised regularly with the help of private sponsors.

Ms. Rani Satish, Minister for State for Kannada and Culture, claimed that the setting up of the Hampi World Heritage Site Management Authority by the Government had set in motion the development of the area. While complimenting the Chief Minister for his keen interest in developing Hampi, Ms. Satish said that basic amenities and tourism infrastructure would be provided. Besides steps would be taken to protect the culture heritage of Hampi, which had been granted the status of World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Mr. Ghorpade, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, who presided over the function, urged the Chief Minister to set up a corpus fund of Rs. 5 crores so that the utsav could be organised regularly on a grand scale.

S.N.Jayaram, Deputy Commissioner, welcomed the gathering. Jain, Tourism Commissioner, proposed a vote of thanks.

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