Visitors walk away with flowers, pots on last day of Vasant Utsav in Noida

Noida: What was meant to be a celebration of the colours of spring and craft ended in controversy on the final evening of the 38th Noida Flower Show, or Vasant Utsav, after visitors allegedly plucked flowers from elaborate floral murals and carried away potted plants from Shivalik Park. A few visitors were seen pushing through the crowds and grabbing calendulas and orchids in bulk, bundling them into bouquets to take home.

A video of the incident, recorded Sunday night, has since circulated widely on social media, drawing sharp criticism. A man filming the scene, and likely to have shared it online later, can be heard expressing disbelief as people walked off with flowers and pots. Its 8.30 pm. They have not come to see the decorations but to destroy them. They appear educated, but are behaving like this, he says.

The footage triggered an outpouring of reactions online. Social media users called the behaviour shameful and reflective of poor civic sense. People in Noida are having zero civic sense, Nikita Negi, an Instagram user wrote, while another simply commented, Shame.

This was not an isolated lapse in civic behaviour.

In Jan, a similar chaos had erupted on the last day of the World Book Fair 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre in Pragati Maidan, after visitors rushed to grab books from stalls, with some even climbing shelves after a free book giveaway was announced. Footage circulating on the internet showed visitors reaching over others to pull books from high displays and passing them back through the crowd at the Bloomsbury stall.

In 2023, decorative pots and planters were also stolen from Bhairon Marg outside Bharat Mandapam weeks after the G20 summit. At the time, authorities had planted over 1.6 lakh flowering plants to spruce up roads and central verges around Pragati Maidan.

The four-day Vasant Utsav, held from Feb 19 to 22, attracted nearly 10 lakh visitors. According to officials, crowds peaked on Sunday, with nearly 5 lakh visitors, leading to slow movement inside the venue and traffic congestion outside. Overcrowding on the last day led to the nuisance towards the end of the show on Sunday. But this is a public event, and people should treat it as their own, an official said, adding that no action had been initiated so far.

This years show was themed around the Kedarnath shrine, with a large floral replica as its centrepiece. Other installations included trishuls, elephants, drums, earthen pots and even a piano, turning the park into an immersive, walk-through display. According to the horticulture department, 120 floral varieties were on display at the event.

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