Vasantotsav- 2018 at Rajbhawan commences amidst plethora of blooming flowers

Vasantotsav- 2018’, the flower show and horticulture exhibition commenced at Rajbhawan on Saturday. The Governor Krishan Kant Paul inaugurated the annual event organised by the Uttarakhand Horticulture and Food Processing department. The two- day event would conclude on Sunday.

After inaugurating the event, the Governor went around the flower show and met the participants. A Philately exhibition of Department of Posts was also inaugurated by the Governor who himself is a keen philatelist. Stamps from his own collections were also shown in the exhibition.

He also released the first day postal cover by department of posts on the herb Jambu (Allium Wallichii) on the occasion.

Talking to the media persons, Paul said that this annual spring festival has become an important cultural event of Dehradun where people could enjoy the beauty of nature, music and food.

He said that in Uttarakhand, floriculture could become a commercially beneficial activity.

The Governor opined that the floriculture is a viable and highly beneficial alternative of the conventional agriculture. Small and marginal farmers can adopt flower cultivation and increased area under Floriculture in recent years is a healthy sign, he said.

The Governor added that expensive flowers like Tulip can be cultivated in the state and narrated successful attempt to cultivate these exotic flowers at Raj Bhawan.

He further said that children in increasing number are now participating in the painting competition being organized in course of Vasantotsav. This would boost their talent and confidence, he added.

 Differently-abled children and underprivileged children also joined the school children who took part in these competitions.

In the flower show, the entries included commercial flower growers, hobbyists and government institutions.

This year, a total of 1850 entries were received in different categories of flower show which is a marked increase from 1581 entries received last year.

Flowers like Gerbera, Glandulous and Lilly were appreciated by people in ‘ Cut Flower’ category. Potted plants, fresh/ dry flower arrangements, garlands, bonsai, variety of cactus and vegetables were other highlights of the show.

 A Judo Karate display by ITBP, a Yoga display by students of Dev Sanskriti Vishvidhyalaya Haridwar and a Khukri Dance by Gurkha Regiment were other attractions  of the Spring Festival.

Wife of Governor Omita Paul, cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal, former chief minister Harish Rawat, chief secretary  Utpal Kumar Singh, secretary Ravi Nath Raman,  finance controller K C Pandey, chief post master general M C Pandey and director (horticulture) B S Negi  were among those present on the occasion. In the evening a cultural programme was also held.