Preparations in progress for Rose Festival at Rose Garden in Sector 16, Chandigarh, on Friday. (Express Photo/Sahil Walia)
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation has decided to hold chopper rides yet again for the second consecutive year at the three-day Rose Festival. A mail has been sent to 112 aviation companies to know if they were willing to hold such rides in Chandigarh. Also, a letter has been sent to the UT Deputy Commissioner’s office for his clearance. The festival is scheduled to be held from February 23 to 25.
The civic body has also called an expression of interest for the rides. Though it is only after the finalisation of the company that the rates of each ride would be decided, sources said the price would be slightly higher than that of last year.
Officer on Special Duty Angrez Singh, who is in charge of organising the rides at the Rose Festival, said, “We have just sent out mails to 112 aviation companies. Our first and foremost condition would be that of safety. We will ensure that there is air worthiness certificate and proper ground clearance is given to the choppers. We won’t compromise on safety at all.”
These rides would be held at the Sector 17 parade ground itself. These were held last year at the Rose Festival for the first time. This became the major attraction for people, who turned out in large numbers to take the ride.
According to details, the expenditure on the coming Rose Festival would be Rs 55.67 lakh. Last year, Rs 49 lakh was spent on it. Initially, due to paucity of funds, the civic body was not clear about holding these rides. But, because certain councillors said that this is one of the biggest attractions, the MC decided not to skip the fest.
The three-day annual Rose Festival will see a host of events at Rose Garden and Leisure Valley. The dates of the fest were decided after taking into account that the roses would be in full bloom around that time. Different competitions and musical nights will also be held.
There are 829 varieties of roses at the garden sprawling across 40 acres, said officials. There are about 1,400 flower beds and nearly 40,000 plants.