The final day of the two-day annual summer festival-cum-flower show at Yercaud on Sunday saw tourists participating in various competitions.
Different government departments vied with each other in conducting competitions, which attracted a large number of tourists from across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The Mahalir Thittam organised ‘kolam’ competition for women. Srija of Kovilmedu won the first prize, Jaathimalli SHG of Semmanatham bagged the second prize and Joy SHG of Yercaud won the third prize.
The tourists thoroughly enjoyed the ‘healthy baby’ contest and ‘walking’ contest for kids, in which tiny tots below two years participated. The event was organised by the Integrated Child Development Programme.
The cookery contest too attracted many entries. R. Amritha won the event for her ‘millets pachadi’. Amaravathi of Yercaud bagged second prize for ‘saamai maida chappathi and egg gravy’ and M. Sheela of Yercaud won the third prize for ‘potato kebab’. The ‘boat race’ organised by the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation Limited in the evening saw the participation of many couples. Competitions were conducted under four categories– men, women, couples, and presspersons.
Balaji and Asokan won the competition for men, while Senthilkumar and Sureshkumar finished runner up and the third prize went to Rajkumar and Karthi. The first prize in the women’s section went to Roja and Soundarya. While Haritha and Rekha finished runner up, the third prize went to Amudha and Divya. The competition for couples was won by Sasikumar and Punitha.
The Horticulture Department had conducted best ‘private and public gardens’ competitions. The State Department of Art and Culture and the State Tourism Department had jointly organised cultural programmes such as naiyaandi melam, karagattam, kolkal attam, pattimanram , and street plays from dawn to dusk.
All the tourist homes and private lodging houses were flooded with visitors. Many tourists who did not get an accommodation slept in their vehicles parked on the roadsides.
