TN’s heritage, culture take floral shapes in Kodaikanal

Madurai: The 63rd Kodaikanal flower show was inaugurated at Bryant Park by district collector S Saravanan on Wednesday on behalf of the department of horticulture & hill crops as well as the district administration. The 12-day exhibition features flower beds with approximately 6 lakh flower seedlings, 10,000 pots with various colourful flowers, and more than 1.3 lakh floral arrangements.Floral structures depicting Tamil Nadu's heritage, culture and natural beauty, such as Pamban bridge, jallikattu, Brihadeeswarar Temple, and a female figure representing women's empowerment are displayed as a special feature this time. Representations of Dindigul's specialties like Devanga, Chinnalapatti Sungudi saree, Nilakkottai jasmine and Dindigul biryani are also showcased using vegetables. Special floral structures like Butterfly Entrance, Naruto, and Double Heart were designed to attract tourists and children.For visiting tourists, arrangements have been made for drinking water, restrooms, parking facilities and transportation to avoid traffic congestion. A 24-hour control room has also been established. "Based on feedback from tourists who visited last year's flower show, steps are being taken to fulfil their needs," the collector said.Arrangements have been made for disabled people and their companions to visit the flower show free of charge. After the inauguration, the collector visited various stalls set up by different departments.At the TTDC Boat House – 1, rowing boats decorated with modern artistic designs featuring Tamil letters, nature-inspired themes and creative paintings, gave tourists a boating experience on the lake. The look of the boats became a major attraction for those visiting the boat house. Visitors made use of rowing boats, pedal boats and scenic lake rides on Kodaikanal Lake. Boating points were made available at boat house 1 and 2 for tourists.The event was attended by district superintendent of police (in-charge) V Vinod Shantharam, Kodaikanal district forest officer and wildlife warden D Aravind, deputy director of horticulture P Chandra Kavitha, Kodaikanal revenue divisional officer R Keerthana Mani, and officials from other departments.