A team of Police personnel from the City Armed Reserve (CAR), with the backing of a team of forest personnel, have begun dry practice of cannon firing. The practice began yesterday at the Mysore Palace campus with the Policemen taking out the cannons and began the cleaning and oiling process. Cannons were paraded and the Policemen refreshed their memories on cleaning the cannons, steps to be followed including the assembling of the cannon and security measures that have to be adopted while filling the gun powder and the process of igniting the fire. Once the second batch of the elephants arrives, a date will be fixed for the rehearsals to familiarise them with the booming sound of the cannons. On the day of Vijayadashami, cannons are fired for 21 times outside the Palace Fort to signal the beginning of Jumboo Savari, which marks the Dasara finale. To prevent the jumbos from getting nervous, the rehearsal of cannon gunfire is conducted three to four times in the run-up to the Dasara finale every year.
