Bengaluru: In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exhorted the citizens of the country not to use plastic as it is harmful to the environment. But do people care?

The use of plastic is banned as it is harmful to the environment. In spite of several warnings, people refuse to relinquish its usage.

In the recently held flower show at Lal Bagh, Bengaluru, 1 ton of plastic from the premises has been recovered.

Shocking, isn’t it? It’s not that the authorities are to blame. They had put up boards banning plastic bags, covers and even bottles, but nothing has been adhered to.

An NGO named Sahas which has taken up cleaning operations was disgusted to see such an amount of plastic population in Lal Bagh. The NGO which employed the services of 40 volunteers, split them into two. The 2 teams then cleaned up the premises, disposing of the plastic.

That apart, as the curtains are down on the flower show, official stats show that as many as 4.58 lakh people visited it, spanning across 10 days.

The total collections in the flower show, which happens to be the 210th edition, stand at Rs 2.10 crore.

This year’s theme was the life and message of Mysuru king Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar through flowers.

Two years ago, when the life and works of poet laureate Kuvempu was depicted through flowers, a record was set as 1.60 lakh people visited the gardens on a single day (August 15).

This year, on August 15, that record was broken when 1.72 lakh visitors stepped into the flower show.