Only a few visitors were seen roaming the venue of the National Tree Fair 2012 on Thursday, the third day of the month-long fair showcasing different species of saplings.
The campaign for the fair was insufficient to attract the city dwellers, complained nursery owners.
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, inaugurated the fair on Thursday with a call to people to plant at least three saplings and nurture them with care to preserve the environment for ensuring a pleasant future for the next generation.
The forest department of the ministry of environment and forest organised the month-long National Tree Fair 2012.
This year about 79 organisations – 62 private nurseries, 10 government organisations and 7 non-government organisations are participating in the fair, said forest department assistant forest conservator Abdullah Abraham Hossain.
He said a total of 2,694 saplings were sold at a cost of Tk 1,99,472 on the first day.
Abdullah said, ‘Participants are trying their best to bring diversity to the fair which was monotonous in the previous years.’
Around 500 species of fruit bearing, forest grown, ornamental and medicinal plants are available in the fair so far, said Abdullah.
The fruit bearing saplings include mango, black berry, carambola, wood apple, jackfruit, banana, guava, star apple, tamarind, grape, strawberry and date sapling.
At the fair, Rambhutan saplings are available at Tk 2000 per piece and Thai Kau at Tk 35,000 per piece.
The medicinal plants in the fair include amlaki, arahar, arjun, salad kachu, ulatchandal, kalomegh, basok, harvhanga, neem, bohera, patharkuchi, thankuni, hartaki and geetakumari.
Some vulnerable and endangered local trees are also on display at the stalls of the National Botanical Garden and Baldha Garden include Sindhuri, Kusum, Dugdugi, Baobab, Chapalish, Nil and Ritha.
Beside these, Gardenia Nursery is selling 60-year-old bonsai at a cost of Tk 5 lakh, flower bonsai at Tk 8,000-15,000 and Thai Padma at Tk 8,000.
Dilsha Shahnaz, a housewife who came to the fair from Razabazar of the capital, bought four flower saplings Hasnahena, Beli, Kamini and Joba from the fair.
She told New Age, ‘Every year I wait for the fair and try to buy some saplings for my garden.’
In the fair there are many stalls selling orchids and different types of cactus at Tk 300-3000.
Agriculturist Dwijabar Baroi said, ‘Customers and visitors are mainly looking for the fruit bearing and ornamental trees at the fair.’
The fair remains open from 9:00am to 8:00pm and will end on July 4.