Mysuru Dasara Gold Cards for the festival’s major events have sold out, according to a report by Prajavani, but the revenue figures cited in the report require clarification before they can be treated as final. The cards provide access to the Jamboo Savari procession, the torchlight parade and the drone show, along with one-time entry to several major attractions.
The Mysuru district administration had placed 3,000 Gold Cards on sale online at ₹6,500 each. The report says tourists and members of the public purchased all the cards. It also states that Gold Card holders will receive access to reserved enclosures and numbered seats for the Jamboo Savari at the Amba Vilas Palace premises.
The access package covers the Jamboo Savari on October 21, when gates will remain open from 10am to 12.30pm, followed by the torchlight parade at the Bannimantap Parade Grounds from 4.30pm to 6.30pm. Gold Card holders will also be allowed to watch the drone show and the air show, according to the report.
The card additionally provides one-time complimentary entry to the Amba Vilas Palace, the Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, the Chamundeshwari Temple, the flower and fruit show, and the Dasara exhibition. One Gold Card or ticket is valid for one person. District Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy said access would be provided to those who had purchased Gold Cards for the air show.
The administration has printed seat numbers on the cards this year to reduce confusion at the venues. Cardholders have been instructed to carry either the physical ticket or Gold Card along with photo identification. Those who booked online must collect their tickets from the Deputy Commissioner’s office, the report said.
The report also quoted travel operator Prashanth B.S. of SafeWheels Travels as saying that several foreign visitors, including people from the United States, Africa and Germany, had booked Gold Cards online. He welcomed the numbered seating arrangement but said the administration should ensure smooth entry and provide basic facilities such as drinking water and toilets for cardholders.
The revenue details in the report, however, are not internally consistent. One section states that the district administration earned ₹1.20 crore this year from the Gold Card sales. Elsewhere, it reports sales of 2,500 palace tickets at ₹3,500 each, generating ₹87.50 lakh, and 2,000 tickets each for the torchlight parade and drone show at ₹1,500 and ₹1,000 respectively. It also mentions ₹1.90 crore from Gold Card sales and refers to ₹3.20 crore in ticket-sale revenue in 2005. These figures do not reconcile with one another or with the reported sale of 3,000 Gold Cards at ₹6,500 each.
The district administration’s final revenue statement and a detailed event-wise sales breakdown will therefore be necessary to establish the confirmed earnings. The immediate operational priority remains the distribution of physical tickets, identity checks and orderly access to the reserved enclosures on October 21.
