The kingdom was known for its grandeur and inclusiveness. But the grand utsav at Hampi to mark the 500th anniversary of the coronation of Sri Krishnadevaraya has completely ignored the local population.
The consequence of the absence of the locals was there for all to see: confusion and tardiness reigned in the run up to the biggest celebration in Hampi’s memory.
The planning was so lopsided that almost a third of the Rs15-crore budget was spent only on the main stage — the Sri Krishnadevaraya Vedike. However, the stage was not erected even till Tuesday evening.
In fact, most of the six stages set up for hosting various cultural events did not sport their name boards even as the inauguration programme commenced in the evening.
Most seats remained unoccupied at the humongous cultural event. Krishnadevaraya’s bronze statue that was to be unveiled, remained wrapped, and the gold crown for the Virupaksha temple deity had not been secured until late afternoon. To add to the mess, farmers staged a black-flag demonstration against the acquisition of their lands for archaeological research.
The locals, who derisively described the eventas a ‘Reddy Utsav’, felt that they had been intentionally kept out of the preparations.
“We did not even get an invitation,” said Yellappa, a local resident.
It was said that even professors and scholars from the Hampi University had not been invited to be part of the core committee of the celebrations. “This utsav is basically a pompous show of money. Forget us, even members of the gram panchayat were not involved in the charting of the utsav,” Yellappa said. It was not surprising that many locals were enquiring about the events scheduled.
Tourists, too, were not content with the facilities. Accommodation in Hampi is hard to find during the utsav, and tourists had to look at Hospet, Anegundi and Kamalapura for a decent room.
Foreigners were the most harried lot, as they were being fleeced at nearly every step.
Locals feel cheated
Locals at Hampi regretted the hollow promises made by the state government.
“There is scarcity of drinking water here. There have been talks about flights being operated to Hampi from Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai for the celebrations. But have you seen the bad condition of roads from Jindal to Hampi? Motorcycles and bicycles are available for hire for tourists to commute in and around Hampi.
Otherwise, I find no development here,” said Veeresha, a shopkeeper.
“When they announce funds, all that they do is ask us to vacate the temple premises, and take away lands from farmers. There is a police sub-division now. But our lives are not secure.” said Eerappa, a shop owner.
The Unesco’s instructions to the government to not disrupt the lives of the locals have also fallen on deaf ears.
“Although there is scope for employment in Hampi, we are forced to move to another city as we are not given licences to open more shops here. We make a living by converting our houses into guest houses. That is all that we can do here,” said Virupaksha, who runs a guest house and also owns a shop.
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