Dasara gold card goes on sale, online

The Mysore Dasara 2007 gold cards were on sale online, with its release in Mysore today.

The Rs 6,000 cards, priced Rs 1,000 more than last year, can be bought online at www.mysoredasara.org and the payment can be made online using a Visa or Mastercard credit card. Once the payment is cleared, the gold card will be couriered within India to reach the buyer within 48 hours.

Foreign tourists can provide Indian address or collect the card from the Skyway International Travels offices in Bangalore or Mysore. A gold card provides entry for three persons at all Dasara attractions.

Launching the gold cards online, Kannada, culture, information and tourism commissioner IM Vittalamurthy said of the 750 cards on sale, 150 cards have been sold. Care will be taken to avoid harassment of gold card holders and they will have a special enclosure to watch the Dasara procession and the cultural events.

The gold cards, passes and invitations will carry a bar code to check their misuse. The VVIP passes will have the guest's photo as well to ensure they get proper attention. Seating will be for 4,000 people at the palace grounds.

A special feature of the arrangements this year is the installation of 50 CCTVs on the procession route and at select places for safety and to monitor both the public and those on duty, police commissioner Bhasker Rao said. On the remaining nine days too, CCTV will be in operation at select places.

Apart from the palace, seating arrangements will be made at four other places on the Dasara procession route, to check people from standing atop old buildings like the Devaraja Market on the Sayyaji Rao Road, said deputy commissioner NS Channappa Gowda.