Silver jubilee celebration of rose garden cancelled

UDHAGAMANDALAM: The horticulture department was forced to cancel the silver jubilee celebration of the Government Rose Garden (GRG) in Ooty due to the coronavirus threat.
The summer festival committee had in March decided to conduct a three-day rose show with a grand celebration to be concluded on Sunday. To mark the occasion and to encourage the workers, the department distributed sweets to 200 garden workers.
“We had planned a grand function with 25 structures made of different varieties of roses to celebrate the occasion. We cannot blame anyone for the present situation,” said joint director of horticulture department Shiva Subramaniam Samraj. “We cannot postpone it to the September season as blooms will not be much. We are planning to conduct the celebration in the next summer season.”
Raja, a senior gardener, said the workers were looking forward to the grand function. “We are disappointed,” he said.
Developed and maintained by the horticulture department, GRG was established in 1995 to commemorate the centenary flower show, an annual feature at the Government Botanical Garden (GBG). With 31,500 rose plants of 4,201 varieties, it boasts of one of the biggest and finest rose gardens in the country. it is spread across 10 acres on the sloping land called Elk Hill. The World Federation of Roses Societies (WFRS) had bestowed its prestigious ‘Award of Garden Excellence’ to the garden in 2006.