BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday inaugurated the 213th Lalbagh Flower Show, a ten-day event which is organised every year in connection with Republic Day.
The theme of this year’s show is ‘The History of Bengaluru’. It will take visitors through the city’s history and evolution, and will be open till January 30. The works on display at the Glass House depict the city’s main attractions like Kadumalleshwara Temple, Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, the High Court (Attara Kacheri), Bangalore Palace and Vidhana Soudha.
The flower show also has displays in the Singapore style. There are 112 flower domes on display and 69 species of flowers from eleven countries, including Holland, Colombia, Israel, Chile, The Netherlands, Belgium, Kenya, Austria and Ethiopia. The Cymbidium orchid plants from Darjeeling are the main attraction and the Horticulture Department has also displayed six lakh flower pots at the show.
Entry to the flower show is ticketed and adults will have to pay Rs 70 on weekdays and Rs 75 on weekends and holidays. Children under the age of 12 will be charged Rs 30 on all days. Ticket counters and parking arrangements have been made at all four gates of Lalbagh for the convenience of visitors.
“The Lalbagh Flower Show has its own history and, every year, lakhs of people travel from all over the country to attend the flower show. This time, we are expecting more than 15-20 lakh visitors. Our goal is to expand our green diversity”, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai after inaugurating the show.
“We want to expand green cover in the state. A green budget of Rs 100 crore will be set aside for the purpose. The government has planned to convert barren hilly regions to green fields. Steps will be taken to promote horticulture on a larger scale and to protect the name of Garden City by maintaining its main parks. New gardens will be created on the outskirts of the city”, he added.
“I am very happy to see the history-themed flower show this time. I liked everything, especially the fact that people like flower arrangements and shows. Particularly, I liked the Singapore style display and floral flow”, said Sinchana, a visitor to the flower show.