Second Karachi Marigold Festival opens at Frere Hall

The Second Karachi Marigold Festival of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s (KMC) Parks & Horticulture Department kicked off at the Frere Hall on Friday. Between 40,000 and 50,000 marigolds will be on display during the event, which will run till Sunday.

Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab inaugurated the festival, and said the people of Karachi were looking at new options as they could see development being done by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

“Those who have objections on the new Local Government system should raise the issue in the Sindh Assembly. No opposition party submitted any amendments in the law,” he said, adding that the Frere Hall was adorned with winter flowers of marigold and these beautiful flowers are the identity of Karachi.

The inaugural ceremony was also attended by Municipal Commissioner Syed Afzal Zaidi, Director General Parks Junaidullah Khan, District Governor Rotary International Dr Aftab Imam, Abdullah Rafi, Anjum Dadi, Farah Malik, Muhammad Yaqub Attari and a large number of dignitaries and officials.

Barrister Wahab said citizens must come to see the floral exhibition. The KMC’s Parks and Horticulture Department had worked hard to cultivate the flowers and organise the exhibition, he said, adding that the citizens were actually rewarded for their hard work.

“The KMC under the same resources has no dearth of problems and everyone is watching development work being done.” Wahab said the PPP believed in serving the people, and opponents of the past were joining hands in the “hatred” against their party.

"The coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly in Karachi, has forced us to rehabilitate the parks so that citizens can spend their time in the open air. We are fulfilling the promises made with the citizens and the campaign for the restoration of parks for the citizens is going on.”

The administrator said that in a week's time, the Karachi Zoo's Baradari would be decorated and opened to the public. On the occasion, the KMC administrator also reviewed the historical fountain that had been non-functional for the last 20 years, but the Parks and Horticulture Department had recently restored it. “The citizens of Karachi have suffered a lot in the past, but now the people want their city to be peaceful and prosperous, and we are restoring its splendor,” he said.

Wahab, who also acts as a spokesman for the Sindh government, said the provincial government was taking all possible steps for restoring the “lights of Karachi”. In response to a question, he said the city had drowned in rainwater during last year's rains, but this year the citizens did not face any difficulty due to the efforts and hard work of the local bodies. The flow traffic remained usual, as the rainwater was drained out timely, he claimed. Wahab also saw the flowers planted for the Second Marigold Festival and visited the stalls.