As many as 150 pairs of buffalos will leave for Mysuru Dasara kambala from Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district on October 17, according to Belapu Deviprasad Shetty, president, Karnataka State Kambala Association.

The kambala, organised by Mysuru Dasara Executive Committee, will be held for two days from October 18.

Mr. Shetty said that the buffalos will be transported in different vehicles from the Mahalingeshwar temple in Puttur at 8 a.m. The owners of buffalos will be distributed passes in the temple premises. The buffalos will reach Kushalnagar at noon. There will be a two-hour rest for them at Kushalnagar before proceeding to Mysuru at 3.30 p.m. All buffalos are expected to reach Mysuru at 6.30 p.m.

He said that owners of 172 pairs of buffalos had applied to participate in the kambala in the Mysuru Dasara. Of them, 150 pairs were shortlisted for the folk sport event through a selection process.

The race will be held in six categories. Of them 15 pairs will participate in Hagga Hiriya, 20 pairs in Hagga Kiriya, 36 paris in Naegilu Hiriya, 55 pairs in Nagegilu Kiriya, 13 pairs in Adda Halage Hiriya, and 11 pairs in Kane Halage Hiriya categories, he said.

Mr. Shetty said Mysuru Dasara Executive Committee will provide an honorarium amount of ₹65,000 to each pair participating in the senior category race, and ₹50,000 to each pair taking part in the junior category race.

Approval for the same was given in a meeting of the committee presided over by Urban Development Minister and Mysuru district in-charge minister Yatindra Siddaramaiah in Mysuru on September 16, he said.

Several organisations in Mysuru have opposed holding the kambla in Mysuru on the ground that Karnataka is facing a drought, and organising kambala requires water.

Organisations opposing the kambala in Mysuru include the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha, Parisarakkagi Naavu, and Dalita Sangarsha Samithi. Some writers and activists have also opposed the kambala in the Mysuru Dasara. They have argued that the site for holding the race is meant for a park and the local ecology has been destroyed.

The grand Gajapayana of the first batch of Dasara elephants was flagged off at Veeranahosahalli on the outskirts of the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve in Hunsur taluk on Wednesday (August 26, 2026), marking the beginning of preparations for the world-famous Mysuru Dasara festivities.

Nine specially decorated Dasara elephants were accorded a traditional welcome at Veeranahosahalli before embarking on their journey to Mysuru. The event was held with much fanfare in the presence of hundreds of locals and tribal people from neighbouring hamlets, who gathered to witness the spectacle.

Minister in-charge of Mysuru district Yathindra Siddaramaiah flagged off the Gajapayana in the presence of other dignitaries. The first batch comprises Mahendra, Srikanta, Lakshmi, Ekalavya, Dhananjaya, Gopi, Kaveri, Prashantha and Srirama.

Adieu to Abhimanyu

The Gajapayana also witnessed an emotional moment as legendary Dasara elephant Abhimanyu, who carried the golden howdah during the Jamboo Savari for six consecutive years, was accorded a ceremonial farewell ahead of his retirement from active Dasara duties.

The 60-year-old tusker was given a red-carpet welcome and showered with flowers as a mark of respect for his decade-long service as one of the leading elephants in the Dasara jumbo squad. His contribution to the Dasara festivities was specially remembered during the ceremony.

The first batch of elephants will travel to Mysuru in specially arranged trucks and will be stationed at Aranya Bhavan before being formally welcomed into the Mysuru Palace premises on August 28.