Ooty summer fest concludes on a high note

Udhagamandalam: The summer festival in Nilgiris came to a close on Saturday with the tourists being treated to boat races at Ooty Lake. As the model code of conduct was in place almost throughout the month of May, the tourists this time around were not offered as much entertainment as in the past years.
The summer festival organised by the tourism department had began with a cultural programme held at Government Botanical Garden (GBG) in Ooty on May 1. A five-day flower show (123rd edition) was inaugurated by the Tamil Nadu Governor, Banwarilal Purohit. Later, on May 25, a two-day fruit show (61st edition) was conducted at Sim’s Park in Coonoor.
However, the vegetable show, usually showcased in Kotagiri and the spice show in Gudalur were not held due to the prevalence of model code of conduct. Even the five-day cultural programme which showcased the traditional dances of various states including Karnataka, Andhra and Kerala were only organised beginning from May 27, after the model code of conduct was lifted.
Nilgiris collector J Innocent Divya gave away prizes to the winners in the presence of Nilgiris SP D Shanmuga Priya. Rajya Sabha MP K Arjunan and Coonoor MLA Shanthi A Ramu were present at the function.
Ooty saw an inflow of more than 4 lakh visitors during the month of May.