Groundnut fest is around the corner By A Sharadhaa Come December 2, the area around the Big Bull Temple in Basavanagudi will wear a festive look for the quaint Kadalekai Parishe, an annual groundnut fair. The two-day mela is more of a traditional festival and will see most parts of pavements running along Bugle Rock, Karanji Anjenaya Temple Road, road from Ramakrishna Math Circle going towards Gokhale Institute of Public affairs dotted with heaps of kadalekai (groundnuts). Colourful stalls will sell a variety of household and decorative items along with puffed rice and sugar candies. This year, the fair has got a special boost from the mayor B S Satyanarayana’s office. Satyanarayana is also councillor for Basavanagudi. His team has undertaken various initiatives to make it a grand affair and a safe festival. “As the area councillor, this is a special event for me. We are expecting crowds of five to six lakh people. Various cultural programmes have been organised for two days at Bugle Rock Park and K S Narasimha Swamy Park,” said Satyanarayana. According to the mayor, 25 closed-circuit TV cameras will be installed in the area. A special lookout will be kept for pickpockets who usually take advantage of such events. The traffic police has been instructed to set up barricades wherever necessary. L A Ravi Subramanya, sitting legislator from Basavanagudi, has taken to Facebook to publicise the festival. He posted on his page, “My constituency will be abuzz with the fun-fare. We are making required arrangements. Looking forward to the event myself (sic).” According to N R Venkatesh, police inspector, Traffic, Basavanagudi, 46 personnel will be deployed for the two-day event. “We have arranged for parking facilities at National College Grounds, Kohinoor Grounds and Udaya Ranga Kala Maidana. Traffic diversions have already been marked. Those coming from Girinagar and Hanumantha Nagar will have to take a detour via Hayavadana Rao Road, Ashrama, leading to Chamrajpet and Lalbagh West Gate and Majestic. We are also creating a route from APS College, 7th main where commuters can reach Nettakallappa circle and South End Circle,” said Venkatesh.
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 09:32:03 +0000