Mysore Boat Ride in Karanji Lake. Very pathetic administration.

 I happened to visit the lake this Sunday the 28th July with family consisting of six members including two kids. Just for the sake of Kids, I purchased tickets at 12.20 Noon for six passengers for Pedalling Boat but it was a total chaos at the boarding place in the  absence of any organised approach to have a queue in order of tickets numbers and timing of Booking , distribution of jackets, priority for seniors and elders and kids to  have the ride. Might is right was the approach and literally pushing pulling and shouting were the arrangements to get into the boat. After spending an hour and finding no way of handling the crowd in a decent way, I decided to approach the counter clerk who was unfortunately found not only arrogant but also defiant of the way things are handled. Since argument with such insensitive fellows made no sense I decided to get back without going for the ride . I handed over the tickets to some uniformed person at the  main entrance of the Lake and in the absence of any supervisor worth the name advised the officials found  in Kwaki Uniform at the main entrance the matter and left the place for our good. It is not the question of loss of money but the way one carries an image of the arrangement and callousness  and insensitivity of the administration is something definitely avoidable if at all some attention and care are taken care of by those who manage the show. Only very few will take the pain to report out of love for the country and better image of the administration.  

Since Mysore attracts tourists from all over the world and having experienced by them top class arrangements in handling the crowd in a decent and highly organised manner, the expectation of the crowd in enjoying a visit to Mysore and having the joy of seeing the Mysore attractions in a dignified manner and carrying an image worth keeping for long is natural. But unfortunately the arrangement was missing and no semblance of any supervision and accountability for such a small avoidable lapse was found except for selling tickets .Very sorry state of affairs indeed. In this context, I would like to draw the attention of the readers to the concluding para of the  Editorial that appeared in Times of India dated 30th July 2024 "Cities Our tragedies" which says' Urban Chaos and zero oversight by municipal bodies are India's terrifying new normal.' 

Dr T V Gopalakrishnan.