(31 December 2008 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The Malayalam general entertainment channel Amrita TV has designed a studio-based pavilion at the ongoing 49th Kerala School Arts Festival. Starting today, the festival will run till 5 January.

Eight thousand children are expected to participate in 216 items from schools across all the 14 districts of Kerala. The festival is being simultaneously conducted at 16 separate venues and will attract 50,000 to 75,000 people, the channel said in a release.

The channel claims that it is encouraging lateral entry of aspirants from the school festival to participate in Amrita TV's reality programme.

Amrita TV is also setting up a ‘Citizen Zone’ for aspirants who want to participate in the show, Best Citizen Journalist-2.

Additionally, the Web Zone of the Amrita Pavilion will present a blog forum where visitors can post their opinions on the festival's content, format, judging and also issues like terrorism, teenage suicides etc. Prizes will be given away for the best blogs of the day.

A round-up on the festival will be telecast everyday at 7.30 am on the channel which will feature the daily highlights of Kalolsavam. Amrita TV's news bulletin, Top 10 at 10, will have an exclusive segment with reports from each of the 16 venues of the festival. A team of 15 Amrita TV reporters and 15 cameramen have been deployed to cover the event.