Mysuru, Oct 7 : The countdown has begun for the inauguration of the Dussehra festival atop the Chamundeshwari hill on Thursday morning. Former Karnataka Chief Minister and veteran BJP leader S.M. Krishna will launch the 'Nada Habba' in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and set the ball rolling for Navaratri festivities. The inauguration will take place between 8.15 a.m. and 8.45 a.m. This will be 412th Dussehra Navratri that was started by the erstwhile Mysuru Kingdom in 1610 AD. A stage has been set up atop Chamundeshwari Hills as the Indian Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rains. The district administration has arranged water-proof pandals to accommodate the dignitaries on the dais and also 400 attendees. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, celebrations will be toned down. The rituals for the festival began at 4.30 a.m. on Thursday. The main idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari in the temple atop the hill will be decorated with nine types of 'alankaras' (embellishment) during the nine days of Navratri. The district administration has banned the entry of the public to Chamundeshwari Hill till Thursday noon and the inauguration is set to be a VIP event. Union Ministers from state Prahlad Joshi, Rajeev Chandrashekar, A. Narayanaswamy and Bhagavanth Khuba will also be in attendance. Bommai will inaugurate the week-long Dussehra cultural programmes in the Mysuru Palace premises at 6 p.m. on Thursday. He will also confer the State Sangeetha Vidwan award to noted mridanga artiste A.V. Anand. All participants, including government officials, are being asked to carry a negative RT-PCR report from a test conducted after October 4 for entrance at the festival venues. Dussehra festival will culminate with Jumbo Savari on October 15, which will take place only within the Palace premises due to Covid restrictions. All events of the festivities will be live-streamed. Arrangements have been made to use social media platforms to telecast the events of the inauguration, Jumbo Savari, cultural events and Vijayadashami procession on a real-time basis. /IANS