Heavy rain hits preparations for annual flower festival in Ooty

UDHAGAMANDALAM: Frequent downpour in Ooty town has been playing spoilsport for the arrangements being made for the annual flower festival , which would begin on May 17. Flower beds in the government botanical garden have been damaged in the rain that lashed the town in the past two days. It has also hit the rose blooms.

Ooty had received 38mm rainfall for a 24-hour cycle that ended at 8am on Friday. The hill town saw another heavy shower on Saturday, forcing tourists to remain indoors.

Shiva Subramaniam Samraj, joint director of horticulture, told TOI that they were worried as the showers have damaged both the flower beds and potted flowers in the botanical garden. “Yes, we need rain. It doesn’t look like summer showers. It is very harsh and heavy and rose blooms in the government rose garden are slowly withering away.”

According to the official, it is quite impossible to cover such a vast extent of rose garden and botanical garden. “The 123th edition of the annual flower show is to be inaugurated on May 17 by governor Banwarilal Purohit. We hope it doesn’t rain in the coming week. We are keeping our fingers crossed.”

More than 30,000 potted flowers are on display at the botanical garden, which also features more than two lakh flower beds. The government rose garden, meanwhile, is home to more than 3,000 varieties of roses. The garden has more than 30,000 rose plants.

The rain has also hit the schedule of tourists. “The downpour during the day restricts our outing. We are forced to remain indoors. After the rain, what awaits us are slushy roads. So, it’s a big deal to get out,” said Mukund, a tourist from Bengaluru.