With the Karnataka Government imposing restrictions on public gatherings in the light of the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the annual flower show from January 26 to mark Republic Day has been cancelled.
“The flower show will see lakhs of visitors thronging Lal Bagh, which is clearly not advisable given the pandemic situation. So we have cancelled the show,” said M. Jagadish, Deputy Director, Lal Bagh.
This is the fourth successive flower show to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Flower shows to mark Independence Day 2020, Republic Day 2021 and Independence Day 2021 were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the plague and World War I and II, flower shows were disrupted. However, it is unlikely they were not held almost three years in a row, sources in the Horticulture Department said.
However, unlike the previous shows that were cancelled well in advance, the Horticulture Department had made all preparations for the January 26, 2022 flower show, given the cases were low recently. Preparations begin at least four months before the show when plants are grown to time the flowering with the show.
“This year, with the cases being very low consistently, we thought we could finally do the show in January, and began preparations in earnest. The death of actor Puneeth Rajkumar pushed us to make matinee idols Dr. Rajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar the theme of this year’s flower show. But, the advent of the third wave of Covid-19 disrupted our plans,” Mr. Jagadish said.
