Freedom fighter, Gandhian among visitors to flower show

Many influential people joined the citizens to visit the 209th Lalbagh flower show on Sunday, the last day of the show.

The show has been put together as part of the Republic Day celebrations in the city by the state Horticulture Department and the Mysuru Horticulture Society.

Among the notable visitors were veteran freedom fighter H S Doreswamy and chairman of National Gandhi Memorial in Rajghat, Delhi, Annamalai who decided to visit the flower show after hearing about the replica of the Rajghat and the Sabarmati Ashram.

The two were quite amused to see the floral displays inside the Glass House created to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the Mahatma. Several Gandhians, including those staying near the Wardha Ashram, visited Lalbagh on the last day of the flower show.

But the Horticulture Department and the volunteers found it difficult to instil Gandhi’s message of cleanliness as visitors to the botanical garden littered the place with plastic bottles and carry bags. A mountain of plastic items was seen strewn around the place, despite a ban on their use.

Lalbagh’s Deputy Director Chandrashekar M R said the department penalised 50 violators over the last 10 days and collected Rs 5,000 in fine. He insisted that the aim was to create awareness and not to punish people.

The department had collected Rs 5,000 as deposit from the vendors who set up stalls at the flower show, which it would return if the area around the stalls is maintained well. But it would retain the deposit money and would levy further penalties if the stalls do not ensure the space is clean by January 28. Also, despite high security, the department was unable to keep away hawkers and illegal vendors who did brisk business at the garden.

Official records reveal that the department collected Rs 29.22 lakh from 78,150 visitors on Sunday. Over the last 10 days, the department earned Rs 1,55,29,590 from the sale of tickets to 4,02,700 visitors.