The illuminated Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, which is the main venue of the 63rd Kerala State School Arts Festival that begins on January 4. The venue has been named MT-Nila as a tribute to writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair.
| Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
The State capital is gearing up to host the State School Arts Festival after a gap of nine years.
Nearly 15,000 students will take part in the festival across 25 venues. The Arabic Sahithyotsavam and the Samskritotsavam will also be held along with the arts festival.
The welcome song for the festival has been penned by Srinivasan Thooneri and set to tune by Kavalam Sreekumar. Its dance interpretation will be presented jointly by the students of Kerala Kalamandalam and State schools. Students of GVHSS, Vellarmala, Wayanad, will present a group dance on the theme of survival, Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty said at a press conference here on Thursday.
Those reaching the festival inaugural as guests will be presented with books. Books have been collected for this purpose.
Director of General Education Shanavas S. will hoist the flag at Central Stadium, the main venue that has been named MT-Nila in memory of the late writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will formally inaugurate the festival at 10 a.m.
Nineteen subcommittees have been formed for the smooth conduct of the festival.
Registration
Registration of participants will begin at SMV Higher Secondary School at 10 a.m. on Friday. Seven counters have been arranged for the 14 districts. A help desk too has been set up.
Arrangements have been made on the web portal www.ulsavam.kite.kerala.gov.in for students to record at the time of online registration if they need accommodation. Twenty-five schools have been identified for housing the students, with 10 schools in reserve. Teachers will be on duty in two shift in the accommodation centres. In schools where girls are accommodated, the services of police personnel, including women personnel, will be ensured.
Food
The food pavilion has been put up at the Putharikandam grounds. Pazhayidom Mohanan Namboothiri will manage the massive festival kitchen this year too. At a time, 4,000 students will be able to eat at the pavilion. It will open with dinner for the participants on Friday. Arrangements have been made for students to take away hot water.
Venues
Ninety-five percent of the work has been completed at Central Stadium, the main festival venue. Arrangements have been made for video recording of the events at all venues. Digital facilities have been arranged for displaying results of competitions near the venues. The competitions will be telecast live on KITE Victers channel. Light and sound arrangements too are nearly complete in venues that have pavilions. Vehicles have been arranged to transport students to and from venues to accommodation centres and the food pavilion. Services of doctors and ambulances have been arranged at all venues, besides that of counsellors.
The procession carrying the golden cup that began from Kasaragod will reach Thiruvananthapuram district on Friday morning.
The festival will observe the green protocol.
Judges
Experts from within the State and outside have been selected as judges by the Directorate of General Education in a transparent manner. Nevertheless, the State Intelligence and Vigilance will monitor the performance of all judges continuously. In case of disagreements with the results in an event, the final decision will be taken by a State-level appeals committee.
Law and order
CCTV cameras have been installed to ensure law and order. Control room will be set up near main venues and outposts near other venues. More than 800 police personnel will be deployed. Shadow police too will be deployed. Services of 2,500 student volunteers from NSS, NCC, SPC, and Scouts and Guides will be available at the venues.
Valedictory
The festival valedictory will be held at 5 p.m. on January 8. Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan will inaugurate the valedictory. Actor Tovino Thomas will be the chief guest.
Published – January 02, 2025 09:03 pm IST
