Visual, gourmet treat for visitors at Baradari Gardens in city

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 22

The Department of Culture and Tourism, along with the district administration, organised a flower and food festival at Baradari Gardens here on Friday.

Presentation of a variety of flowers and nursery items was a part of the festival coupled with availability of some of the most sought-after food items from the city. The festival will continue on Saturday as well. Farmers, nurseries, institutions among others took part in the competitions of presentation of flowers at the event.

Former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Preneet Kaur was the chief guest on the occasion. She said the Patiala Heritage Festival would play an important role in educating the younger generation about the history and culture of the region.

“Flowers play a vital role in keeping the surroundings beautiful. Farmers should also turn to growing flowers along with conventional farming,” she said.

Farmers, nurseries and other people from Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur, Ludhiana and other cities took part in cut flower, flower ornaments, cacti, salts, bonsai plant and other types of decorations at the gardens. Stalls of organic farming and vegetables were also set up at the festival.

Dalip Kumar, Executive Engineer, Horticulture, Patiala Municipal Corporation, said as many as 895 people, institutions and nurseries took part in the flower competitions.

Cultural programmes were also held as part of the festival where people relished famous food items of the city such as ‘kachouri’, lassi and others.

The department also organised a quiz competition at Thapar University. As many as 30 teams from various schools and colleges took part in the competition. The winning team won a cash prize of Rs 8,000, while the runners-up team won the prize of Rs 6,000. Surbhi Malik, chairperson, Improvement Trust, said the motive behind the quiz competition was to introduce the children with the heritage.