Two officials of the Horticulture Department were suspended on Thursday after it was brought to light that the national flag on trophies and cups distributed to winners during the valedictory function of the recently-held Flower Show were printed upside down.
According to sources in the office of joint director of horticulture (JDH) at Ooty, V Ramsundar, assistant director of horticulture, Government Botanical Garden, Ooty, and Shebila Mary, assistant director of horticulture, Sim’s Park, Coonoor, were suspended after an order from Chennai.
A preliminary inquiry was conducted after which the duo were suspended for negligence, sources added. Further inquiry into the issue would be conducted.
The two shows were conducted by the Flower Show and Fruit Show Committee that also ordered prizes.
The committee has horticultural commissioner Satyabrata Sahoo as the president, Collector Archana Patnaik as vice-president, joint director (Nilgiris) K Mohan as secretary, and Ramsundar and Shebila Mary as members.
The suspended officials said it was an error of the printing agency and they were made scapegoats.
Even as the issue of the wrongly printed flag erupted, dissent has been growing among agriculturists, who were not given representation in the committee in recent years. It used to be customary for non-officials who were flower growers or agriculturists to be included in the committee.
Further, sources said, this year, a large number of free passes, which permitted the entry of two persons per pass, were distributed to a few people, including some journalists, who were close to the officials. They in turn sold the passes, causing a loss to the department.