The journalists, who arrived in a vehicle belonging to the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), were initially stopped near the Brahmapuri entrance to the palace.
While 54-year-old tusker Prashanth carried the iconic golden howdah, veteran tusker Abhimanyu featured as the Nishane Ane, followed by eight other caparisoned elephants guided by their mahouts in the grand procession
Leading the procession as the ‘Nishane Ane’, Abhimanyu, was given a rousing welcome by a large number of people as he made his way along the procession route.
Mr. Shivakumar said people speaking Telugu from Andhra Pradesh, Malayalam from Keralam, and Tamil from Tamil Nadu were among those participating in the festival.
The study says that in over two decades, approximately 16,667 square kilometers burned across 13 reserves, reflecting that some areas burned more than once