The yearly festive extravaganza in the royal town of Mysore, might see it's worst avatar as yet, with the flu scare creating panic
The yearly festive extravaganza in the royal town of Mysore, might see it's worst avatar as yet, with the flu scare creating panicTHE H1N1 scare is playing spoilsport this Dasara, as officials decide to scale down the magnitude of the world famous celebrations.
When officials met in Mysore on Thursday to discuss the preparations that need to get started, H1N1 was one of the biggest priorities. The fear being the large numbers of Indians and foreigners visiting the city during the festivities.
"Dasara this time will not be as grand as it usually is," said Prof M N Shrihari, an advisor to the Mysore district administration, who was present in that meeting. "We have decided to scale down celebrations in wake of the rise in the number of H1N1 cases in state."
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Sounds like trouble: H1N1 and terrorism concerns will give authorities sleepless nights this Dasara |
Avoiding infection
"Celebrating it in a grand scale as we usually do, might just increase the chances of people being affected," Shrihari said. "As the number of people is going to be huge and foreigners always arrive in large numbers, we are exploring options to ensure the festival doesn't add to increasing number of cases." With over 6 lakh visitors expected this year, officials have decided to set up extra screening centres in Mysore. "Adequate measures will be taken throughout the event, even if it has been scaled down," Shrihari added. The people of Mysore however seem more concerned and believe cancellation might be an option.
Historian Nanjaraja Urs said, "Both H1N1 and terrorism are issues of concern. The Dasara was not held for four years in the 70's due to various reasons. This year, the govt. may consider not celebrating the festival at all."u00a0
