K'taka: Hampi Utsav to be held from November 3

Bangalore, Oct 27: The three-day Hampi Utsav will be celebrated on a grand scale with various cultural programmes, exhibitions and sports competitions from November three, Karnataka Home Minister M P Prakash said today.

Talking to reporters here, he said the Government had decided to conduct the annual Hampi Utsav on par with the Dasara festivities and sanctioned Rs one crore. The highlight of this year's festival was that artistes from overseas were also taking part, he added.

Karnataka Governor T N Chaturvedi would inaugurate the festival on November three, while Chief Minister H D Kumarswamy would open a book exhibition on the same evening. Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly N Dharam Singh and Leader of the Opposition in the Council H K Patil would take part in the festival on the final day, the Minister said.

A seminar had been organised on the cultural history of the Vijayanagar empire during the fest, in which many experts were likely to take part.

UNI