Bangalore : The 200th flower show at Lalbagh was inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday morning. The show was opened for public in the afternoon.

Organised jointly by the Department of Horticulture and Mysore Horticulture Society, the show attracted around 10,000 visitors and brought in `2.38 lakh revenue from fees on the first day. Officials expect more visitors over the weekend.

As soon as the show was opened for public, flower lovers and photo enthusiasts started pouring in to the venue. But officials said that because of the rain and Varamahalakshmi Puja, the number of visitors has been less than expected. A magnificent view of the replica of Mysore Palace attracted a lot of visitors to the glass house, where it is on display.

Apart from the local visitors, many international tourists also came to see the show. A group of international tourists from US were amongst the guests mesmerised by the array of flowers. “It is beautiful and amazing,” said one.

Most of the visitors were either tourists or parents who wanted their kids to see the variety of flowers and creativity on display.

“We come here every three to four years and have attended the show on most of our trips. It is the best way to show our kids a variety of plants and flowers,” said ITI Chaudhary who came along with her relatives and kids.

“It is very beautiful. We just came to know about the show a day before and thought we should not miss it,” said Pradeep Warrier, a resident of Dubai.

Even though the flower show is the most popular event of the city, visitors, mostly tourists, found it difficult to locate the areas in Lalbagh. On Friday, when the show was inaugurated, the venue attracted several visitors and many of them were not Bangaloreans. These visitors found it difficult to locate the venue as there were no signboards or posters indicating the exact location of the venue.

The Department of Horticulture showcased a greenhouse model at the flower show to promote the concept of conservation and use of natural resources. The model was designed on the theme of use of renewable energy, which focuses on the minimal use of natural resources and reuse of available resources. The project demonstrated the use of naturally ventilated greenhouses for vegetables. They help increase quality, yield, optimum use of farm inputs and in some crops, reduce yield duration. It works for creation of greenhouse with artificial rain mechanism and solar panel. Department director Dr Ramkrishna said, the model costs around `34 lakh for one acre and the government gives 50 per cent subsidy.