Hampi: The three-day grand gala celebrations as part of Hampi Utsav had a rocking start on Thursday, with the heritage town coming alive in all its glory.

Cultural programmes, by artistes from within the country and abroad, are set to be organised on nine stages in the capital of the erstwhile Vijayanagar empire.

There are also competitions in archery, rifle shooting, rural sports, adventure sports, women’s fest, poets’ meet for children and a state-level poets’ meet. The town sparkled, with the monuments decked up with colourful electric lights.

The inaugural ceremony was held at the dais set up at the Basavanna Mantapa opposite the Virupaksha temple. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah inaugurated the festivities by offering floral tributes to an idol of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari and by holding aloft the festival torch. He said that former minister, the late M P Prakash, who hailed from the district, was instrumental in conceptualising the festival.

Fireworks in the sky added glitz to the occasion, attended by visitors from far and wide.

Earlier, Siddaramaiah offered prayers at the Virupaksha temple. The chief minister said that he prayed for rains in the state, as the drought for the second consecutive year has led to a drinking water crisis, with 110 taluks being declared drought-hit and 29 more taluks set to be declared drought-affected.

Also, there have been floods in Bidar, Kalaburagi and Raichur district. The Centre had been requested to provide Rs 4,000 crore for drought and flood relief works, the chief minister said.

A heavy rush was witnessed at the nine different venues of the cultural programmes. People had a tough time reaching them, with entry of vehicles restricted into the heritage town.