BENGALURU: For once, the beauty of the flowers at the annual Republic Day Flower Show at Lalbagh Botanical Garden has not been marred by the sight of ugly litter left behind by thousands of excited visitors.
On the opening day, over 10,000 people visited Lalbagh, and the number swelled to 36,000 on Sunday. However, there was hardly any litter to be found anywhere in the park thanks to the efforts of the Horticulture Department and solid waste management organisations such as Saahas Zero Waste and Beautiful Bengaluru.
Sixty workers deployed by the Horticulture Department and 40 volunteers assigned by NGOs worked to ensure that the park remained clean. “Workers cleaned up the place every hour and did not leave any waste unattended. A team of 7-8 managers supervised the cleaning and ensured that the flower show is litter-free,” said Dr M Jagadeesh, Joint Director, Horticulture Department. A total of 240 bins, and signs reading ‘Do not litter’ and ‘Do not use plastic’ dotted the park.
“Our volunteers spread awareness among the public to not litter. And we saw that this time, people were more responsible, said Shaik Mubarak, Field Supervisor at Saahas Zero Waste. At the entrance plastic bottles carried by visitors were seized by security staff.
Many stalls inside the park too were plastic-free. The efforts of all the people who worked to keep the park c l e a n w e r e m u c h appreciated. “I’m amazed to see that the department has maintained cleanliness. As it is clean, me and my family spent more time at the flower show and the tribute to Vivekananda was a treat to watch.” said Dipti Shree from Jayanagar. Dedicated to Swami Vivekananda on his 157th birth anniversary, the show started on January 17 and will be open to visitors till January 26.