The Republic Day Flower Show at Lalbagh ended on Sunday on a green note as the flowers that had visitors enthralled for the last 10 days will be composted and fed back to the soil.
Over the 10 days, officials collected fines totalling ₹25,000 from those littering. In all, 48 tonnes of organic waste was generated during the event.
Over 5 lakh flowers, including over four lakh of those used for making the centrepiece, Gol Gumbaz, will be composted, said M.R. Chandrashekar, Deputy Director, Lalbagh. Hasiru Dal, which is coordinating waste management, said 4,100 kg of dry waste generated during the show would be sent to recyclers and 4,800 kg of organic waste, including 100 kg of arecanut plates, will composted within the garden itself. “Not even one kg of waste from here will end up in landfill. We will even ensure that the around 6 kg of sanitary waste, which cannot be recycled, is properly incinerated,” said Lakshmi Menon of Hasiru Dala.
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike , which had stationed enforcement teams during the event, has collected fines totalling ₹25,000 from vendors for littering, and seized 100 kg of prohibited plastic products. The first day itself saw 35 vendors being fined ₹500 each. “Despite this, many continued to flout the rules. We had to book them as an example, and it worked in the subsequent days,” said Bhagyalakshmi, Deputy Health Officer, BBMP, South Zone. Apart from this, visitors found littering were fined ₹100 each.
Many used the occasion not just to deal with the waste of the present, but also to create awareness for a cleaner city. Odette Katrak of Beautiful Bengaluru — which roped in volunteers for creating awareness — said nearly a lakh students took the green oath on eco-friendly garbage management.
Around 3.6 lakh people visited the 10-day flower show.
