Ooty gardens welcome visitors with flowers

Udhagamandalam: Gardens in the Nilgiris didn’t record much footfall on the first day of reopening after four months. Heavy rain, which lashed Ooty town and other parts of the district for an hour, too played a spoilsport.
The government botanical and rose gardens in Ooty and Sim’s Park at Coonoor, among others, were reopened for the public on Monday. The visitors to the botanical and rose gardens were welcomed with a flower.
While the botanical garden welcomed 1,536 visitors, around 567 people thronged the rose garden. The Sim’s Park, meanwhile, recorded just 274 visitors. The Tea Park near Doddabetta and Arboretum in Ooty too didn’t record much footfall.
Shiva Subramaniam Samraj, joint director, horticulture department, said given the pandemic situation, the number of visitors to the tourist spots was encouraging. “The downpour restricted the movement of tourists in Ooty and Coonoor towns.”
According to the official, most of the visitors were newly-married couples and those from other districts in the state.
The garden authorities have been instructed to follow standard operating procedures while letting the visitors in.
“Visitors are made to sanitize their hands at the ticket counter. They are allowed in only after thermal scanning. To create awareness on the importance of wearing face mask and maintaining social distancing, we have placed awareness boards inside the gardens. Staff members have also been deputed on special duty to monitor the visitors,” an official source told TOI.