The footfall has, however, come down relatively compared to the last two years.
Credit: DH Photo/ S K Dinesh
Close to 9.07 lakh people thronged Lalbagh over the last 12 days to experience the celebrated Independence Day flower show.
This year, the show was based on the life and achievements of Dr B R Ambedkar. The Horticulture Department has collected a total Revenue of Rs 3.04 crore through tickets and another Rs 40 lakh through stalls, taking the total revenue to Rs 3.44 crore.
The footfall has, however, come down relatively compared to the last two years. During the 2022 flower show which was a tribute to Dr Puneeth Rajkumar, the footfall had gone up to 11 lakh, the highest in Lalbagh’s history. In 2023, when the flower show featured Kengal Hanumanthaiah, Lalbagh saw close to 10.5 lakh visitors.
The officials attributed the decreased footfalls to the cloudy weather in the city. “There were heavy rains and cloudy weather for at least three days and hence, the footfall was relatively low. However, it has not come down drastically and the show was a success,” said Dr M Jagadeesh, Joint Director of Lalbagh Botanical Garden.
Litter-free show
The officials also claimed that this year’s show was largely litter-free owing to the efforts by volunteers and workers on the ground.
A slew of measures including strict checks at the entry points were put in place to ensure the event was plastic-free, Jagadeesh said.
“We are proud that the garden looks as clean as it is every day even after a visit by a large number of people. We ensured the bags were checked at entry points to prevent the entry of plastic. Our volunteers and the on-ground staff also kept a close eye and educated people to use the dustbins, making it a litter-free event,” he said.