25,000 tourists visited the garden on May 1st
Udhagamandalam: The May Day holiday triggered a sharp increase in the number of tourists visiting this hill station.Consequently, tourist spots like the Government Botanical Garden here were crowded almost throughout the day.The Joint Director of Horticulture, R.Selvaraj told that about 25,000 persons had visited the garden on Tuesday.So far this year, it was the highest.Special arrangements had been made to handle the rush.He said that two extra ticket counters had been opened.In order to check the activities of vandals, the watch and ward staff were instructed to be on their toes from early in the morning till late in the evening.Police in plain clothes were posted in different parts of the garden.The main lawn, which had been cordoned off about ten days ago to facilitate healthy and uniform growth of the grass, was thrown open to the visitors on Tuesday.Since the beginning of the season, about 35 tourists have been fined for damaging flowers and flowerbeds.However so far no major case of vandalism has been reported to have taken place.
A total of 243 entries from different parts of the Nilgiris have been received for the garden competitions conducted as part of the Annual Floral Carnival. Last year the number had been 264.Pointing out that judging of the gardens by two teams of experts would commence on May 2, he said that the entire process was likely to be completed by May 9.Special teams of experts would judge the outstanding gardens on May 10 and 11.Though a hailstorm had damaged some flowers, particularly dahlias, the garden was wearing an attractive look.
