Two-day spring festival to begin tomorrow at Raj Bhawan in Dehradun

, Feb 21: The sprawling lawns of Raj Bhawan will break into a blaze of colours tomorrow as a two-day annual spring festival gets underway in its premises.

To be inaugurated by Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi, the festival named 'Basantotsav' is scheduled to begin at 11 AM tomorrow and will be free for visitors, Qureshi told reporters at Raj Bhawan today. About 300 florists will participate this year in the event which is likely to receive around 10,000 visitors.

The first day cover of the event prepared by India Post featuring Kedarpatri (Skimia Laureola), a medicinal plant unique to Uttarakhand, will be released by the Governor to mark the beginning of colourful occasion. Ghingaroo (Crataegus Crenulata), which is consumed by wild animals and birds and is also used by local people to make fences around their fields, has been chosen as the theme of the event, Qureshi said.

The event at which a wide variety of flowers are exhibited will be open to public free of cost this year. The finale on February 23 will be marked by various cultural programmes followed by Governor distributing prizes to winners of various contests held as part of the festival. The festival has been held for the past several years at Raj Bhavan to promote floriculture and create an interest among people in environment and nature.

The folk culture of the state is also highlighted at the annual event. Like previous years, commercial and individual flower growers will participate as well as various government organisations which maintain gardens. Floral rangoli contest, painting competition for children, photo exhibition and painting exhibition will also be part of the event. The Governor said that a domestic gardening category would also be included to encourage individual efforts in gardening.

PTI