Eight Jumbo will be deployed on Dussehra duty this year. Mysuru News – Times of India

Mysuru: Eight Dussehra jumbos will be part of the 2021 edition of the 10-day festival, which has been cut due to the COVID-19 crisis.
Of the eight elephants, tusker Ashwatthama is the new entrant, slated to become the Howrah elephant of the future. Like last season, veteran Abhimanyu will be tasked to carry the golden hoard on his back on October 15 and take it inside the Mysore Palace complex, given that the Dussehra procession is confined within the palace complex.
Mysuru district minister ST Somashekar on Wednesday headed a Dussehra executive committee and carried forward the forest department’s plan to bring eight elephants for Dussehra duties in Mysore. They will leave Nagarhole forest on September 13 and will camp at Aranya Bhawan. He will be accorded a traditional welcome at the Jayamarthanda Gate of the palace on 16 September.
Somashekar said that as soon as the procession is taken out, it is decided that the procession of the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari will be celebrated starting from Chamundi hills till the palace on October 15. Earlier the idol was taken to the palace premises without any fanfare. In order to add charm to the celebrations, it has been decided to focus on lights keeping in view that it does not cause crowds and SOPs are followed. As against 50 kms of special lighting of major roads and junctions last year, this season 100 kms will be given from October 7, when the Dussehra festival will begin atop the Chamundi hills.
The minister said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who has the right to name the VIP who inaugurated the festival, has not finalized it yet. He said the number of people invited for processions and cultural events in the palace complex is yet to be decided and it depends on the rate of positivity.
It has been decided to include three tableaux during the procession, which will include folk artists and the Mysore Police Band.
The meeting was attended by Mayor Sunanda Palnetra, MP Pratap Simha, MLA GT Deve Gowda, SA Ramdas, L Nagendra, Niranjan Kumar, B Harsh Vardhan, Deputy Commissioner Baghdi Gautam, who is a Dussehra special officer, Police Commissioner Chandragupta and DCF Karikalan.