BALLARI: With the Election Commission on Saturday announcing bypolls to three Lok Sabha seats in the state on November 3, including Ballari, the fate of this year’s Hampi Utsav hangs in balance with the model of code of conduct coming into force. The Hampi Utsav was scheduled to be held from November 3 to 5. The Ballari seat fell vacant after B Sriramulu was elected to the Assembly.
Though preliminary meetings were yet to be held, applications were invited from artistes and artisans to showcase their talent in the cultural extravaganza. Further meetings were planned this month. In the meantime, the district started gearing up for the bypolls with the electronic voting machines (EVMs) reaching Ballari on October 3.
Considering this, top officials in the district administration say that the Hampi Utsav is likely to be deferred or cancelled.“The election code of conduct has come into force. We are not sure about Hampi Utsav because the bypoll is scheduled for November 3. This means, we cannot go ahead with Hampi Utsav,” a top official on condition of anonymity told TNIE. Sources in the government said that the event can held on a later date. “In 2016, the utsav was held in December,” a source said.
When asked, DC Ram Prasath Manohar said he will seek a clarification from the Election Commission regarding go ahead with Hampi Utsav. Reacting to the issue, leather puppet expert from Ballari Belagal Eranna said, “The utsav should not be cancelled or postponed.
It should be held annually as it reflects our culture. Moreover, it provides budding artistes a platform to exhibit their talent.” This year’s Hampi Utsav faced initial hiccups as District in-chargeMinister D K Shivakumar, who heads the Hampi Utsav committee, was unavailable. Being an outsider, it is said that local MLAs were not cooperating with Shivakumar. When P T Parameshwar Naik was the district in-charge minister, Hampi Utsav was cancelled owing to drought.