A measure of tribal culture and liberal sprinkling of folk arts from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh will be perfectly blended with the hoary past of Tamil tradition to provide a dash of colour to the three-day summer and flower festival, which starts at this hill station on May 28.
With works related to the conduct of the festival nearing completion, the hill station is gearing up for the festival, which is expected to draw huge tourist flow from far and near.
Collector J. Chandrakumar on Tuesday inspected the on-going preparatory works and inaugurated a Rs. 4.28 lakh battery-operated car, a new arrival for this year's festival, for elders and tiny-tots.
This could pick up speed up to 60 kilometres per hour and cover a distance of 35 kilometres.
Flowers in Anna Park and in other places of tourists' attractions have exploded into myriad colours captivating the visitors.
With the sun resuming its scorching heat, especially after the ‘Laila' factor, the arrival of tourists has increased manifold.
To beat the heat, they have started thronging the hill station.
“We are having hundred per cent occupancy for the past 15 days. We expect more during the festival season,” a hotelier said.
The Tamil Nadu Tourism Corporation is also organizing different games in Boat house.
A press release adds that it also plan to undertake desilting works at a cost of Rs. 1 crore.
Already for the benefits of eco-sensitive and fitness-crazy tourists, a bi-cycle tour also is in place atop the hill station.
Besides, the tourists would be encouraged to go trekking and also ‘greening' the hill station by planting a sapling for Rs. 300, which would be named after them.
The Salem district administration has left no stone unturned for the successful conduct of the festival.
Various competitions and programmes such as dog, flower and cattle shows, display of self-help group products, boat races, cultural events, Tamil literary debates, dance by differently-abled by actor Kingkong troupe, and drama by cine star S. Ve. Sekar will form part of the lengthy list of festival activities.
The only faulty line in the entire exercise is the lack of proper sanitation.
Garbage and pig sties are the eyesores here. The Collector has instructed officials to address the problem immediately.
He stressed that safety of tourists should be on the primary agenda of all concerned. The ghat roads have been declared one-way for traffic.
