BENGALURU: Are you one of those who relish roasted corn and get mesmerised by flowers of myriad colours at the annual Lalbagh flower show? Then, here is some bad news for you. The Republic Day flower show at Lalbagh, which is usually held in January third week, is likely to be cancelled this year too owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The horticulture department has placed a proposal before the State Government in this regard in the wake of rising Covid-19 cases and the Omicron scare. “We have placed the proposal before the government. We are waiting for its decision,” said horticulture department director Nagendra Prasad.
Another official from the department seeking anonymity said, “In all likelihood, the flower show will be cancelled this year too due to spiralling Covid cases. Also, the government is working on imposing restrictions on public gatherings in the coming days.”
The official said that crowd management is a difficult task during flower shows. “We can only stagger the displays in the entire botanical garden, but crowd cannot be controlled to ensure social distancing. So just like last year, we want the flower show to be cancelled this year too.
This is mainly done keeping public health and safety in mind,” the official said. The biannual flower show held around Republic Day and Independence Day was cancelled last year as they were restrictions in place. Despite repeated attempts, Horticulture Minister Muniratna was not available for a comment.