Indian Express 28.07.2010
October unfit for flowers, city to get blooms from U’khand
Ayesha Arvind Tags : flowers for commonwealth games, delhi Posted: Wed Jul 28 2010, 00:41 hrs
New Delhi: In charge of lending a “pleasing green touch” to the city in time for the Commonwealth Games, officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s Horticulture department are a worried lot. To begin with, construction delays have meant that the Engineering department is yet to hand over most areas to the department to begin its “plantation exercise”. To make matters worse, they have also realised that the weather in October is not exactly conducive to flowering plants.The MCD has been entrusted with the task of planting flowers to give the Commonwealth Games venues an aesthetic touch during the event between October 3 and 14. “But most flowers cannot survive the weather conditions in October which is why the city hardly has any blooms during the period,” said a senior official.
The Corporation has now decided to source around one lakh potted flowering plants from Nainital and Dehradun in Uttarakhand for the period. They will bring in popular flower varieties like Chrysanthemums, Gerberas, Pansies, Gazanias and Petunias that will already be in full bloom at the time and place them around Games venues and other “important areas”. Incidentally, as per the MCD’s own admission, as the weather will not be conducive for these flowering plants, they will survive for only about 15 to 20 days — sufficient to cover the 11 days of the Games.
The Corporation has already invited bids from interested parties, demanding around one lakh “full bloom” potted plants of 14 different varieties. The approximate cost of the same has been fixed at Rs 26 lakh.
The MCD will also plant another 10 lakh potted non-flowering plants across the Capital in time for the Games. However, these plants will be sourced from its own Horticulture department and from various nurseries in the city.
It has also begun work on sprucing up the central verges and sidewalks along the roads by planting native plants like Ficus, crotons, cycus, hibiscus and bougainvillea that “are fit enough to survive the harsh weather conditions of Delhi”.
