The Hindu : Rain ends Ooty dry spell

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Rain ends Ooty dry spell

By D. Radhakrishnan

Udhagamandalam April 7. After a prolonged dry spell, the weather in this hill station has changed for the better, with the town and surroundings experiencing heavy showers accompanied by thunder regularly.

Greeting the rains as, "timely", the Joint Director of Horticulture, K. Shanmugham, told The Hindu here on Sunday that one could now look forward to an "abundance of verdancy" at the Government Botanical Gardens, where the annual floral carnival would be organised by the Nilgiris Flower and Fruit Show Committee during the third weekend of May. He, however, feared that if drenching became a daily affair, it might do more harm than good to the lawns and flowerbeds. A mixture of sunshine and rain now would help to ensure the perfect setting for the show. While on some beds flowers like dahlia have already made an appearance, in almost all other beds flowering was at the bud-breaking stage.

On the farm front, the rains, benefiting standing crops on about 1500 hectares planted as part of the "irrigated season", augured well for the main (Karbhogum) crops of potato, cabbage, garlic and cauliflowers on over about 2500 hectares. The rains have also helped tea gardens in the district. During the "rush season" the tea growers could expect a good yield.

With the flow of tourists gradually increasing, the Nilgiris district administration has resorted to various ways to make visitors aware that plastic carry bags, disposable cups and plates are not welcome here.

The Udhagamandalam branch of the State Bank of India has joined hands with the administration to encourage the tourists to use paper bags instead of plastic ones. The Assistant General Manager, M. Balan, today handed over 5,000 paper bags, sponsored by the bank, to the Collector, K. Sellamuthu.

Mr. Sellamuthu said the bags would be distributed to tourists at Charing Cross on the threshold of the town and other important places.

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