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| Rose Festival attracts large crowd |
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
Saadia Khalid
Islamabad
Dazzling flowers attracted a large number of visitors to the National Rose Festival organised by the Pakistan National Rose Society here on Wednesday.
Different varieties of roses, including Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, Grand Floras, Miniatures and Polyanthus were wonderfully decorated in different arrangements and categories.
Competitions of flower arrangements and cut flowers were also held on the occasion in which as many as 15 female educational institutions and 12 organisations participated. The panel of judges for the competitions included Asim Raheem, Dr Saeed Ahmed and Mrs Sabri.
Winners of the Cut Flower category included the names of Mahboob, Akhtar Hussain, Mrs Yasmeen and Fatima Jinnah Women University while Akhtar Hussain and Mrs Qamar took the top honour in the category of Hybrid Tea Flowers.
In the category of Miniature Rose Flowers, Col Qamar, Asif Razaq and Akhtar Hussain got the top positions while Areeba Shahid, Mrs Ghafoor and Mrs Nighat won the top positions in the category of Rose Garden category.
In the Small Garden category, Mrs Yasmeen Javed and Naeem Rana were declared winners while in the Large Garden category, Mrs Kishwar and Dr Pervez Akhtar got the top honours. In the category of Farmhouses, Agha Ghazanfar Khan was declared as the position holder while in the category of Outside Strips, awards were bestowed upon Mian Zafar Iqbal, Noor Muhammad, Ms Kishwar, Areeba Shahid, Ms Tahir and Naila iftikhar.
Talking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Environment Hameed Ullah Jan Afridi said that flowers are a part and parcel of our social life, as they add beauty and fragrance to our homes and gardens.
He said Pakistan has a huge potential to earn foreign exchange through the export of flowers and exquisite plants. “All the relevant government agencies and societies associated with flowers should put together their efforts for the promotion of floriculture in the country and enhance their export,” he said.
The minister said that roses are used for making different products including garlands, ‘ittar’ (scents) and many medicines. “There is a need to promote research for exploring and identifying the new varieties of roses,” he stressed.
He appreciated the efforts of Pakistan Rose Society for promoting roses and carrying out research on indigenous and wild roses of Pakistan. “It is an honour for our country that the first book on this topic has been selected for an award by the World Rose Federation,” he added.
Afridi said the Ministry of Environment would provide all possible assistance for the promotion of floriculture in the country. “National Rose Festival 2009 has been organised as part of the activities of the ‘National Year of Environment’ to promote the cause of beautification and environmental conservation in the country as well as raising awareness in this regard,” he said.
Earlier, the minister took a round of the exhibition hall where various varieties of rose were on display.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
