Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner and Administrator Bhushan Gagrani inaugurated the three-day Mumbai Flower Festival at Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Garden and Zoo in Byculla (East) on Friday.
The theme of this year`s` festival is `Highlighting the national symbols of India to Mumbaikars through flowers`. A wide variety of plants, flowers, herbs, and spices are on display this year. Gagrani has appealed to Mumbaikars to visit the festival and witness the floral diversity at the event.
The festival is organised jointly by BMC and the Tree Authority of India.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Gagrani said, “One feels elated after seeing the flowers. The exhibition will also help tourists with the information they need on conserving and caring about the natural wealth around them.”
After the inauguration, the municipal commissioner, along with all the senior officials and Mumbaikars, inspected the exhibition. The civic commissioner praised the layout and decoration set up at the festival. He was particularly impressed with the national emblem of India made of leaves.
The festival will be open from 8 am to 8 pm till Sunday, February 2.
This is the 28th year of the annual Horticulture Expo.
In this year`s theme of Mumbai Floral Festival, an attractive presentation of India`s national symbols has been made with captivating compositions of various flowers. The tricolour made of marigold and teak flowers caught the attraction of the visitors. A replica of the Bharat Ratna has also been made through wooden art. The composition of the mango, which is the national fruit, is made with marigold flowers at the festival while the Ganges Dolphin, the national aquatic animal, is adorned with teak flowers of white and pink hues. Along with this, symbols such as the national flower lotus, national currency rupee, national animal tiger, national tree banyan, the Ashoka pillar, river Ganga, and national bird peacock also attracted the attention of Mumbaikars.
There is also an exhibition of garden items and fertilisers. An attractive display of different bonsai species, medicinal plants, crepe paper flowers and a selfie point have also been created.
Apart from the floral exhibits, visitors can also buy indigenous and foreign plants at the flower stalls. There are also more than 50 stalls selling agricultural materials, pesticides, sprayers and agricultural implements at these stalls.
Day 1 of the festival witnessed witnessed a large footfall of visitors, with most of them appreciating the concept of national emblems, said the Superintendent of the Park, Jitendra Pardeshi. The visitors include school students, photographers and environmentalists.
