BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has decided to organise Cauvery Aarti thrice a week at a spot near the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir in Mandya district, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also holds the water resources portfolio, has said.
Shivakumar said that the event will not cause any damage to the reservoir built across the Cauvery.
Elaborating on the proposed Cauvery Aarti, Shivakumar said that the government has planned seating arrangements for 10,000 people. Of these, 30% of the seats will be ticketed, and the remaining will be free of cost. Also, 80 acres has been reserved for parking.
Shivakumar said that a section of people have misunderstood the event and are expressing their opposition.
“We are going to interact with every stakeholder and convince them. We are going to go ahead with the programme. In the next three days, we will be releasing the details of the event,” he said.
Shivakumar had convened a meeting with farmers of Mandya and nearby regions on Wednesday.
Shivakumar said that the proposed Cauvery Aarti will generate employment for at least 2,000 people. “The event will also showcase the culture of the Mandya, Mysuru, Kodagu, and Mangaluru regions. Local purohits and artists will be given opportunities. Purohits will be trained at the Adi Chunchungiri Mutt,” he said.
Cauvery Aarti will be hosted by the Water Resources, Endowment, Kannada and Culture, PWD, Tourism and Energy Departments.
Shivakumar said that a team of state MLAs had visited states in North India to study similar aartis, and they have submitted a report. Based on the report, we have designed Cauvery Aarti.
“Cauvery belongs to everyone. If there is no Cauvery, there is neither drinking water for Bengaluru nor water for agriculture and industries. We need water for Karnataka and also for Tamil Nadu. Hence, we are insisting on the Mekedatu project,” Shivakumar added.