04 October 2004	Monday	18 Shaban 1425

KARACHI, Oct 3: Efforts are on to save the Thai Orchid Pavilion, set up at the Race Course Gardens with the support of a member of the Thai Royal Family, and to restore its glory, as its plants have been damaged , probably owing to non-conducive weather conditions and naive handling.

The pavilion was prepared with the efforts of a member of the Horticultural Society of Pakistan, Shaukat Fancy, who approached Prince Disnada Diskul, a member of the Thai Royal Family, who was his friend and a former schoolmate, and obtained his support for that project.

The entire garden was developed by the Royal Mae Fah Luang Foundation, headed by the Prince Diskul, on approximately an acre of land in the Race Course gardens. Some funds were also provided by the Orchid Society of Pakistan, that was headed by Mr Fancy.

The Thai prince had specially flown in from Thailand to the city last year and visited the Race Course Gardens to have a look at the site of the proposed pavilion.A team of orchid experts, along with the material required for the pavilion, was sent from Thailand, and the pavilion was completed. A soft opening of the pavilion was held a few months back this year, which was to be formally inaugurated later.

However, after some time, the pavilion was handed over to the Race Course Gardens authorities without formal inauguration. An orchid nursery was also developed near the pavilion, so that, if required, the existing orchids could be replaced with the fresh ones available at the nursery.

Mr Fancy, talking to Dawn, deplored that the pavilion was not being taken care of properly, and the orchids there had suffered immensely. The orchid nursery had suffered even more, he added.

He suggested that the Race Course authorities should seek assistance from some orchid experts, so that the Thai gift could be saved from destruction. Responding to the Dawn queries, the Race Course Gardens' Project Director Brig Mohammad Javed Akhtar said that orchids were very sensitive plants and efforts were being made for their proper care.

He said plastic sheets had been wrapped around the entire pavilion to save the orchids from strong winds, and the humidity level in the pavilion was also being maintained, so that the orchids did not suffer.

He said that the plastic sheets were not a permanent solution and efforts were on to build glass walls, with sliding roof, around the entire pavilion, so that not only the humidity level could be maintained properly, but the impact of the winds could also be checked. A decision in this regard had been taken, he added.

The glass structure project was already in final stages of its formal approval, and expected to cost somewhere between Rs5 million and Rs10 million, he said, adding that besides this the recurring cost of maintenance of the highly-sensitive orchid plants would also be very high, but keeping in view that it was a gift from a member of Thai Royal Family to Pakistan, all the money that was needed would be spent.

He said the nursery had been placed under care of a highly qualified botanist, recently, for good care of the orchids. Brig Javed said that since a large number of orchids were available at the nursery, so it was decided that the surplus plants would be sold and the funds thus generated would be spent on the maintenance of the pavilion.

For the time being the funds from the orchid sale were being deposited in a separate bank account to ensure transparency, he added. He said some time back, the Consul General of Thailand in the city had visited the Thai Orchid Pavilion, and he was pleased and had expressed his satisfaction with the condition of the orchids in the pavilion.