Things of joy, not for everyone

Things of joy, not for everyone

In spite of paying the required entry fee, manyvisitors were not allowed to enter the Lalbagh flower show, while others got in without paying a paisa

By Aditi Soni
Posted On Saturday, August 09, 2008

From sports days to Independence Day celebrations, functions without chaos in our country are rare, aren’t they? And, the Independence Day flower show, that started in Lalbagh on Saturday, surely lived upto the reputation a sentry chaos, absence of ticket checks and parking problems were some of the ‘highlights’ of its first day.

Visitors, who parked themselves at the park as early as 10.30 am, were not allowed entry into the glass house where flowers were on display. “I had come all the way from Mysore especially for this flower show; I also paid Rs 40 to enter the garden, but, I wasn’t allowed to enter the glass house as some VIP was supposed to come there. And, to top it all, the officials were also quite rude”, said Radhakrishna, one of the visitors, who spent one-and-a-half hours just trying to enter the premises.

The visitors tried their best to get a glimpse of one of the most talked about flower shows in the country, but were disappointed. “We approached the horticulture department as well. But they just said they were helpless”, added Julia, another visitor who wasn’t allowed to enter. Later, more than 200 people gathered outside the Lalbagh gate and protested against the authorities for now allowing them inside. However, like other protests, nothing came out of this one as well.
Chaos and trouble at the entrance were not the only issues that people were complaining about. “I saw so many people walk into the garden free of cost. So, why were we asked to pay so much money? This is nothing but fooling the public”, said Sudha Sheela.

Even though so much was being said about the tight security of the place, hand metal detectors to check cars were nowhere to be seen. Moreover, the one and only metal detector at one of the entrances was not even being used. Even the policemen were seen guarding only a few gates. “We were preparing for a VIP’s visit and hence, were not spread out to all the gates”, said one of the policemen.

So, was the flower show an absolute disaster? “We have been visiting this flower show for past three years. But this time, it had been reshuffled totally and things were not that smooth”, said Aparna Das, another visitor.

In the midst of all this frustration, there were a few lucky people who got to see what they came for without paying a paisa. “I got to enter the park without paying anything. In fact, so many people entered without paying as there was nobody to check our tickets”, added Deepak Jairaj, one of the few happy visitors.

When contacted, a horticulture officer expressed his surprise with regard to people entering the Lalbagh show without paying anything. “People should not be entering free of cost. I had no idea people were entering like that”. He also admitted that visitors were not allowed inside the glass house in the afternoon as horticulture minister S K Bellubbi was to inaugurate the flower show.