Chandigarh Rose Festival gets underway

Chandigarh: Chandigarh`s popular Rose Festival got underway Friday as hundreds of people, including the youth, flocked to the sprawling 30-acre Rose Garden to view the myriad variety of blooms on display and witness cultural events. The festival attracted many residents of the city along with tourists, both Indian and foreign, on the first day itself.

Sandeep Kaur, a student who had come all the way from Nanital to visit the Rose Festival said: "I am enjoying the festival with the activities happening around here." Foreign visitors could be seen enjoying themselves too. Hisashi and Yujishimamura, tourists from Japan said: "We have travelled to a lot of countries and places, but we have not seen such a vibrant festival anywhere. This is for the first time that we are visiting the Rose Festival and it is a Thumbs-Up!" The festival has also become a treat for the elderly of the city. Some of them could be seen indulging in photography. One of them, H.S. Kalra, a retired Reserve Bank of India employee who was visiting the festival with his wife said: "We have been visiting the festival since many years now. It has become an annual affair for us. This time, the fresh fruit and flower decorations are better than the last time." The three-day Rose festival, which will be on till Sunday (Feb 26), is being held amid tight security arrangements by the Chandigarh police. This is the 40th edition of the festival. "Tight security arrangements have been made. Nearly 300 police personnel are on duty at the Rose festival," station house officer Ranjot Singh said. IANS