111th Annual Floral Carnival begins today
Udhagamandalam: Acclaimed as a botanists' paradise and one of the best laid gardens in Asia, the sprawling Government Botanical Garden here will host the two-day 111th Annual Floral Carnival (AFC) from Saturday.The festival will be declared open by Governor Surjit Singh Barnala. People of the hill station and its surroundings are excited about the show. Even as the organisers work overtime to put the exhibition together, observers feel that lessons are yet to be learnt from the unpleasant experiences of the past.Earlier shows were turned into village melas with hawkers of various items `invading' the venue soon after the inauguration. The observers hope that adequate precautionary measures would be taken during this year's show. With senior officials of several departments here to conduct review meetings, the demand for free passes is more. The question being asked is: cannot the important and well-to-do persons shell out Rs. 5 per adult and Rs. 2 per child to witness the show instead of troubling the already harassed organisers for free passes.
Pointing out that the right to collect entry fees had been auctioned, the organisers said that on no account should the collecting agency demand more than the authorised amount from visitors.Stating that the admission tickets would be checked frequently, they said that any attempt to take visitors for a ride should be immediately brought to the notice of the police or officials.Meanwhile, cloud formations on Friday caused considerable concern to the organisers at the field level.
