Its curtains for month-long summer festival in Ooty

Udhagamandalam: The month-long summer festival in Ooty came to an end on Thursday with the valedictory function held at the Research Centre for Tribal Culture (RCTC) building. With the popular flower show, rose show, vegetable show, spice show and fruit show, besides other cultural programmes and activities, the ‘Queen of Hills’ witnessed around 10 lakh tourists during the summer season from May 1 to 31. Speaking on the occasion, Nilgiris collector J Innocent Divya said, “It is the responsibility of the locals to preserve the ecology of the hills by avoiding the use of plastic, littering and illegal construction. Local residents should take a pledge about these things.”Lauding former Nilgiris SP Murali Rambha for the tremendous efforts implemented to regulate traffic during the month, Divya said, “The help of the patrons, who had generously contributed towards sponsorships for cultural and other events is highly appreciated.”Observing that tourist police were introduced in the first time in Tamil Nadu in Ooty, the new Nilgiris SP, Shanmugapriya, said, “Tourist police wearing reflective jackets were welcomed by all sections of people. Thanks to them, the traffic flow was smooth even during the VIP’s visit to the hill town during the flower show.”For the first time, the summer festival also had a night bazaar on the Garden Road for three weeks and a book fair for 10 days. In a first, South Zone Cultural Centre organized a five-day cultural programmes in Ooty. On the concluding day of the function, the patrons, officials and schools were honoured with mementos for their contribution towards the success of the festival. Nilgiris collector and Rajya Sabha MP KR Arjunan distributed the mementos. Tribal dances and other cultural events marked the occasion.