Lalbagh resembled a garbage dump if not a war-torn area on Thursday, a day after an unprecedented number of people visited the garden to witness the Independence Day flower show.

One could see garbage strewn all over the garden and even the rock formation where the Kempe Gowda tower is located was not spared. “It will take us atleast a week’s time to clean the entire premises. As many as 150 sweepers have been pressed into service and we have already transported 25 truckloads of garbage,” a Lalbagh official said.

The ‘credit’ for this mess of the place, of course, goes to the citizens of Bangalore, who thronged the venue and also hundreds of vendors who wanted to make a quick buck during the week. 

“Vendors do not need permission to run their businesses inside Lalbagh. Most of them also have the support of the local goons. Officials are therefore scared to take action against them,” said a security guard.

Over  2,000 flower pots kept at the Glass House have also been broken and the plants were trampled upon by the visitors. “People had no place to walk  and therefore ended up walking on the plant display. The micreants in the crowd took advantage of the numbers and indulged in vandalism. They even tried to beat me for trying to stop them,” said the security guard who was in-charge of Economic Garden.

If this mess created by the uncivic public was not enough, the workers who had been deputed to clean the place, set piles of garbage to fire at several places in the garden, damaging priceless botanical treasures.

A record number of four lakh people thronged to the garden for the flower show where the Taj Mahal made of roses was a special attraction. The horticulture department, which issued entry tickets only till afternoon, collected Rs 16 lakh as entry fee.

Horticulture Minister Shashikanth A Naik:

Despite the fact that people come every year, the police have not been able to manage the crowd. But there is no need to stop organising flower show at Lalbagh. It is a rare opportunity for people to witness flower show. I will shortly hold a meeting with officials and discuss ways to minimise inconvenience to citizens.

Lalbagh Horticulture department Deputy Director Jagadeesh:

We had not expected so many people to visit Lalbagh and did our best to control the damage.  Any place gets spoiled if so many people visit and steps have been taken to clean the premises.

A portion of the railing connected to the Glass House has been damaged due to the rush, but we will restore it soon. To prevent vendors from entering Lalbagh and spoiling the aesthetics of the area, we have decided to open food courts at five places during the show next year.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic-East) Madhukar Shetty:

All roads surrounding Lalbagh are too narrow to be able accommodate the heavy traffic. The police did their best on Wednesday to regulate traffic. Had they not done their job properly, the problem would have been even more severe.

Retired forest officer S G Neginhal:

What happened yesterday should not be repeated because it will harm the bio-diversity of Lalbagh. Authorities should assess the carrying capacity of the gardens and only that many number of people should be allowed to enter it. Limited tickets for any show should be issued much in advance. This will ensure discipline and help protect the garden.

Ban flower show inside Lalbagh:Police

After yesterday’s episode with unruly public and heavy vehicular traffic, the city police have decided that they will write to the Government not to organise I-Day flower shows at the botanical garden from next year.

“We have decided to write to the Government not to organise the flower show as it will lead to traffic jams. All roads around Lalbagh is very narrow and there isn’t sufficient space for parking. Hence, we are suggesting to shift the venue to the Palace Grounds,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Jayanagar sub-division) D Narayana Swamy said.