Preparations have begun for the Basantotsav (spring festival) held every year in the Raj Bhawan here. The dates and other details of this programme will be finalised according to the approval of the Governor, KK Paul.
During a meet held regarding the organisation of the event, officer on special duty and secretary to the Governor, Arun Kumar Dhaundiyal and other officials concerned discussed various aspects related to Basantotsav. The issues that were discussed by the officials included the date for organising the flower exhibition, selection of the theme of the event, means for making the exhibition more popular and useful for the visitors.
The date and outline of the event will be finalised according to the approval of the governor. Plans for maximising the number of visitors and participants at the flower exhibition/competition organised every year by the Horticulture department, special efforts needed to encourage flower growers from remote areas of the State, facilitating quality cultural programmes and standardised food court, providing relevant information to visitors and cultivators for enhancing income using modern techniques in flower cultivation, encouraging exhibition of products based on flowers and forest produce were also deliberated upon in the meeting.
As in past years, competitions will be held in various categories at the flower exhibition in addition to which various government departments will also set up their stalls here. Dhaundiyal directed the officials to consider factors like the full blooming time of the flowers and board examinations in the schools, in view of which the first or second week of March 2016 should be considered the tentative period for organising the spring festival here. He also instructed that a flower for which the possibilities for commercial production can be developed should be chosen for the postal ticket first day cover.
Horticulture additional secretary TS Panwar, Horticulture director Dr BS Negi, Culture director Beena Bhatt and other officials concerned were also present in the meeting.