Patriotic fever runs high as B'luru soaks in I-Day fervour

Patriotic fever ran high on Monday as Bengalureans celebrated the 70th Independence Day by taking out rallies, hoisting the Tricolour, hosting food festivals and organising cultural events. Two events stood out.

A food festival in Vasanathnagar featured all dishes — dosa, upma, chutney or rice bath — in the national flag colours of saffron, white and green. Raghavendra Shetty, director of Srinidhi Real Food Group, which organised the festival, said it was a first-of-its-kind event in Bengaluru.

In Ramanagaram district, 19,000 students from 167 schools created history of sorts by washing their hands in their respective schools at the same time to create awareness on hand hygiene. Dhanasekaran K, project manager, SNEHA (Support for Network and Help Agency), which organised the programme, said they had expected 10,000 students initially.

“But with encouragement from headmasters and teachers, every single student took part in the event to help create awareness on personal hygiene and health on the Independence Day.”

Members of Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Samara Sene took out a bike rally covering various parts of the city such as Rudrappa Garden, TR Mill, Mysore Bank Circle and Goodshed Road. The rally culminated with the garlanding of Sangolli Rayanna’s statue at the Bengaluru City railway station.

The BJP women’s wing took out a march and the party’s state president B S Yeddyurappa hoisted national flag at the party office in Malleswaram. JD(S) and JD( U) office bearers too soaked in the Independence Day celebrations by hoisting the Tricolour.

Thousands of people thronged the Lalbagh Botanical Garden to witness the Independence Day flower show on its concluding day. The main attraction of this year’s flower show is a replica of Parliament House created with tens of thousands of roses.

Cubbon Park also turned into a hub of activities such as flag-hoisting, musical programme, dance and what not.