“I prayed for the prosperity of the people and the country. The state has received good rainfall this year. May there be good rainfall, good yield and prosperity in the coming days,” said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
He was speaking to reporters after offering puja to ‘Nandi Dhwaja’, a prelude to Jamboo Savari at Balarama Gate near Kote Anjaneya Swami Temple on Wednesday.
“The Dasara festivities had to be scaled down during the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As there is no such fear this year, the festival is being celebrated on a grand scale and all programmes have been held successfully,” he said.
The CM, along with his Cabinet ministers, reached the venue in an Airavat bus of the KSRTC and performed the ritual at 2.34 pm. The timing for the ritual was fixed during the auspicious Makara Lagna between 2.36 and 2.50 pm.
Ministers S T Somashekar, V Sunil Kumar, B C Patil, MP Pratap Simha, Mayor Shivakumar, Deputy Mayor G Roopa, Deputy Commissioner Dr Bagadi Gautham and Police Commissioner Chandragupta were present.
Later, he reached the Jamboo Savari venue in an open jeep, when the procession of cultural troupes and tableaux commenced.