Mysuru, 12 October

The second day of the Dasara flower show organised by the District Horticultural Department at Kuppanna Park in Mysuru received good response from the visitors on Monday. 

The exhibition is open to visitors from 9 am to 9 pm daily from 11 to 21 October, and families thronged to the show.

This year’s theme is organised on democracy, to spread awareness about the importance of voting rights, with the floral models depicting three pilars of democracy; Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. 

Models of ballot boxes, electronic voting machines, control units and voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) were also drawing crowd to the flower show, which is one of the main attractions of the festival.

Notably, around 2 lakh red roses, 4,000 chrysanthemums and 25,000 decorative leaves were used to create a floral replica of the Vidhana Soudha in the park. 

The drought and scorching heat also impacted the show. The Horticultural Department had used between 3-4 lakh flowers for the show, but some of them had started to wither. Joint Director of Horticulture Roopashri told Salar News that all the withered flowers had been replaced and the department had arranged for regular misting and sprinkling water on the flower to avoid withering. 

The crowd too appeared dull during the scorching afternoon heat. 

Other attractions included a display of ornamental plants, including Mexican grass, Anthurium, Gladiolus, Lilium, Carnation and Bird of Paradise, floral depiction of Rajarshi Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar seated on the throne.

Also on display were floral models of Hampi’s stone chariot, a replica of Mysuru’s Chikka Gadiyara (Dufferin Clock Tower) and special bonsai plants, displays of exotic flowers and ornamental foliage sourced from Kolkata, Ooty, Pune, Bengaluru and Hassan, and an exhibition of 75,000 flower pots featuring 49 varieties of annual ornamental flowers grown in the department’s nurseries