A profusion of marigold flowers, strung in garlands, and looped around trees and electric poles will welcome visiting foreign Heads of State and delegates for the G20 Summit. Sourced from Delhi’s flower mandis, over an estimated 45,000 marigold garlands — 20-24 garlands for each tree or pole — are being strung around over 2,000 trees and power poles from the point of the visitors’ arrival to Rajghat in the heart of the city. Part of Delhi’s final preparations for the two-day event, a majority of marigold garlands will adorn tree trunks in the vicinity of hotels near the Capital’s diplomatic enclave. “The exercise happened at the directions of L-G VK Saxena, who had seen such an initiative during a stay in Gujarat. Garlands began being procured from the city’s wholesale mandis on September 6, whereas the process of putting them up started Thursday evening and will continue during the duration of the event,” an L-G House official said. According to L-G House officials, the garlands will greet delegates from the Air Force Station at Palam to the Sardar Patel Marg as well as Rajghat in addition to being put up at all stretches where visiting dignitaries will pass through during their stay in Delhi. Around 400 trees have been decked up with two-coloured marigold garlands around Palam technical area, that is Thimmaiya Marg and Parade Road by the Delhi Cantonment Board whereas 200 trees and 100 poles are being garlanded by the PWD around Kisan Ghat near Raj Ghat. A majority of garlands have been strung around 1,200 trees on Sardar Patel road and important intersections in Lutyens’ Delhi by NDMC while MCD will garland around 300 trees on road stretches under its jurisdiction.
