Bengaluru: One year after its launch, department of horticulture’s ‘Cubbon Walks’ initiative has completed 100 guided tours, with 1,852 people taking part so far. The milestone was marked with a special free anniversary walk at Cubbon Park Tuesday in association with The Naturalist School, Bengaluru.The special walk, from 8.30am to 10am, began at BSNL entrance of Cubbon Park Metro Station and drew around 40 participants. Owing to the turnout, two parallel walks were organised — one in English, led by naturalist Ashish Patel, and another in Kannada by naturalist Karthikeyan S.Launched on July 27 last year, the initiative aims to introduce nature enthusiasts, morning walkers and children to the park’s rich flora and biodiversity.The anniversary event was attended by additional director of horticulture M Jagadish, deputy director of horticulture (Cubbon Park) Kusuma G, president of Cubbon Park Walkers’ Association Umesh S, along with Arun Pai of Bengaluru Walks, Priya Venkatesh of The Naturalist School, and other officials and participants.Arun Pai said the programme has largely been sustained by four volunteer naturalist guides — Radha Rangarajan, Suchi Govindarajan, Ashish N Patel, and Febin Sagir — who conducted weekend walks throughout the year.Cubbon Walks is organised every Saturday and Sunday from 7.30am to 9am, with each session lasting 90 minutes. Participation is limited to 30 people. The fee is Rs 200 for adults and Rs 50 for children above 10 years. Interested participants can register through the department of horticulture’s official website (horticulturedir.karnataka.gov.in)Lalbagh to celebrate Ganga dynastyThe discovery of a 1,100-year-old Western Ganga-era hero stone in Nelamangala recently has added a timely historical connection to this year’s Independence Day flower show at Lalbagh Botanical Garden, which will celebrate the legacy of Karnataka’s first royal dynasty. The 220th flower and fruit exhibition, themed “The Glory of Ganga Empire – Karnataka’s First Royal Dynasty”, will be held from Aug 6 to 17.Organised by department of horticulture, the exhibition will recreate the grandeur of Western Ganga empire through floral installations, highlighting the dynasty’s contributions to architecture, governance, art and Jain heritage. The event will feature nearly 35 lakh flowers and over 2.5 lakh potted plants, besides floral tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Karnataka’s Jnanpith award-winning litterateurs.
