Dasara jumbos to be housed at Dhobi Ghat of Mysore palace

Mysore: In a departure from the norm, The second batch of Dasara elephants which will join howdah elephant, Arjuna and his team in September, will this year be accommodated in the dhobi ghat of the Mysore palace where clothes of the royal family are washed.

According to palace sources, maharani Pramoda Devi has asked the authorities not to tie the elephants opposite the Balarama Gate, where the second batch is usually housed,  as members of the royal family often go to the Kodi Bhairava Temple nearby and she feared the jumbos could block their pathway to it. " So, we decided to shift the second batch of elephants to the dhobi ghat. The first batch is  camping as always at the northeast corner of the palace, near the Kodi Someshwara temple," said a palace official.

When contacted, Deputy Director of  the Palace Board, T.S. Subramanya confirmed that the elephants would be lodged at the dhobi ghat which was being cleaned and  readied to receive them. "The dhobi ghat was identified two years ago to house the elephants of the royal family. But the mahouts preferred to be near the Kodi Bhairava Temple,  the oldest in the palace," he said.

Some palace officers said the maharani had asked the district authorities to lodge the Dasara elephants outside the palace, but gave in after forest officials explained the security risk involved. She, however, reportedly  put her foot down when it came to giving  a traditional welcome to the elephants inside the  palace. 

B.S. Yeddyurappa's son, B.Y. Raghavendra is contesting on a BJP ticket. For Chikkodi-Sadalga where Ganesh Hukkeri, son of former minister Prakash Hukkeri is the candidate, the party has chosen rural development minister Mr H.K. Patil reportedly for his political acumen and  water resources minister M.B. Patil for his resource mobilisation abilities.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior leader said, "Both Mr Siddaramaiah and Dr Parameshwar want to replicate the Congress' victory in the recent by-elections to three seats in Uttarakhand, in Karnataka too. Circumstances are almost similar in Uttarakhand and Karnataka, as two of the three seats here were won by the opposition earlier. The party had adopted similar strategies in Uttarakhand, where 'powerful and resourceful' ministers were drafted for the bypoll campaign.”