Horticulture dept wakes up; to set up committee

Horticulture dept wakes up; to set up committee
Deccan Herald

The Horticulture Department will soon constitute a technical committee to suggest measures to prevent recurrence of gatecrashing and chaos that were witnessed...

The Horticulture Department will soon constitute a technical committee to suggest measures to prevent recurrence of gatecrashing and chaos that were witnessed during the flower show on August 15 at the Lal Bagh Botanical Garden.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Jagadish, Deputy Director, Horticulture Department, said that this committee would deliberate on the measures that should be taken by the department to prevent such situations in future.

The department had sought help of 80 personnel — 65 from Tiger Security and 15 from Sainik Welfare Society.

Also over 100 employees had extended help to 200 police personnel to manage the crowds. But it did not work, said Mr Jagadish. “By mid-noon the Garden was packed with visitors and thousands were lined up outside. As the vehicles had lined up nearly two km it took some time to clear the traffic jam. Anticipating heavy rush, the department had created parking facility in 15 acres of land in Lal Bagh,” he said.

He also added that the sudden downpour made matters worse, as hundreds of people started rushing toward the only big shelter - the Glass House.

“The resulting chaos however could not be controlled, and in the process an iron barricade near the Glass House was damaged,” he said, adding that gatecrashing by many people was another matter that could not be tackled by the security and police personnel.

Due to heavy vehicular movement and hot and humid conditions, the pollution levels were also high in Lal Bagh.

“Today, the air quality is better,” he said.

Present measures

“The department cannot do anything about increasing density of traffic outside the park. However we have initiated several measures to check pollution inside Lal Bagh,” he said. The department has fined about 50 people who were smoking inside the garden. Smoking has been banned inside Lal Bagh for about six months now.

The department has also introduced eco-friendly bikes and cars to reduce pollution levels inside the famous botanical garden.