Overview

• The festival will run Sept. 22–Oct. 2 in an uncommon 11-day format following traditional lunar alignments.
• Officials have secured funding matching or exceeding last year’s ₹40 crore allotment to support exhibitions, illumination and events.
• Committees must design tableaux and programming to highlight Mahatma Gandhi’s principles alongside state welfare initiatives.
• Crowd-control strategies include reducing palace-view seating, repairing and beautifying key roads, and bolstering police coordination.
• The Gajapayana elephant march starts Aug. 4, and the chief guest for the Chamundi Hill inauguration will be finalized shortly.