RAWALPINDI, March 21: Three-week spring festival having different entertainments including musical concerts, food stalls, paintings, floral exhibitions and many attractions for children kicked off at Nawaz Sharif Park on Wednesday amid tight security.

The festival has been one of the major sources of entertainment for the residents of the garrison city for the last 12 years. The organisers say this year the event is being used to make the masses aware of dengue fever by distributing pamphlets among them.

Though the festival was opened for public on Wednesday, the event would formally be inaugurated by PML-N leader and MNA Hamza Sharif on March 23.

“We have made all the arrangements in a befitting manner so that this grand spring festival could become a real success. More than 100 stalls from flowers to food items are available inside the venue,” Managing Director Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Capt (retired) Mushatq Ahmed told Dawn on Wednesday.

He said the event also provided a shopping facility to the people. “Moreover, we are creating awareness about dengue fever by distributing literature among the visitors,” he said and added that it was a major revenue source for the authority.

The PHA, after months-long struggle, could find sponsors of the event from Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and many other parts of the country to establish their stalls at the festival.

“The gala is a unique activity in the town as the people of all ages can find entertainments of their choice at the venue. I have come here with my family to enjoy at the festival,” Zawar Rashid, a government employee in Islamabad commented.

Public and private sector universities and government organisations have establish their stalls to provide entertainment to the visitors.

New Town police station sent a summary about the spring festival to security branch that deployed police officials for ensuring law and order and installed walk-through gates there.