A giant-sized angry bird, two little birds made of roses and the Taj Mahal created with banana stems were the popular attractions at the two-day flower show held as part of the summer festival at Bryant Park here on Sunday.
Large quantities of yellow and pink roses, brought from Bangalore and New Delhi, were used floriculturists from Udhagamandalam and Kodaikanal to build the massive bird, said S.Raja Mohammad, Deputy Director of Horticulture. The bird was a crowd-puller, with enthusiastic children posing with it for photographs.
Floriculturists in Kodaikanal also exhibited more than 600 varieties of flowers including the ‘birds of paradise’ and different varieties of Dahlias. Also on display — proving to be major attractions — were vegetables and fruits of different sizes. The wild animal exhibits organised by the Forest Department also attracted a sizable crowd on what was a pleasant day at the hill station. Performances by folk artistes and musicians representing different parts of the state kept the visitors fully occupied.
Heavy flow of vehicles since morning caused traffic snarls in the town with vehicles stranded for nearly 10 km on the Ghat Road. The serpentine queue stretched even beyond Perumal Malai. Despite mobilisation of forces from Theni district, police struggled to streamline traffic at vantage points.
Traffic diversions and introduction of one ways in several areas were of little help. More than 2.25 lakh tourists visited Bryant Park till Sunday. Even remote spots like Dolphin’s Nose attracted a good number of tourists, thanks to the laying of a cement road up to Vattakanal, its entry point.