M A I N   N E W S

Growing flowers for CWG was a big bloomer
Rakesh Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 20
With no takers for their colourful flowers during the Commonwealth Games (CWG), the floriculturists of the hill state were virtually taken for a ride by the hype created by the government in the media over the projected demand during the mega event.

The ministers and various government agencies exhorted farmers to grow flowers on a large scale and even projected a demand of Rs 30 crore, a bulk of which was to be met from the state. The total annual flower production is valued at just around Rs 40 crore. Many greenhouse farmers opted for flowers in place of vegetables in the hope of making “windfall” profits during the games. However, their hopes turned into despair as games drew near as there were no takers for their produce. Worse, they did not even know whom to approach for supplying flowers. The government agencies had neither done any spadework nor taken up the matter with the CWG organising committee.

Left high and dry by the government agencies, the farmers had no option but to fall back upon the arhtiyas (commission agents) in Delhi who expressed their helplessness in making purchases due to a “lack of demand”. Consequently, the growers had to dispose of their highly perishable produce at throwaway prices, incurring heavy losses. “Against the expected rate of Rs 120 to Rs 150 per bunch, the best carnations were sold at Rs 40 to 50 per bunch, much less than the normal rates,” rues Kewal, one of the many growers of village Chairh in Shimla district who has suffered huge losses.

His views were substantiated by Kailash, a leading arhtiya in Delhi, who said that the demand dipped during the games. Being a native of Himachal, he kept receiving frantic calls from the growers in the state for orders but he was helpless. The growers were misinformed as there was no demand a bunch of carnation or lilium, sold between Rs 60 to 70 during the normal season, fetched only Rs 20 to 25, he added.

Vinod, another floriculturist from Sadhupul in Solan, said: “When we informed the arhtiyas that the state government had pegged the demand of Himachal flowers at Rs 30 crore, they flatly told us to go to the government”. Those who opted for flowers in place of vegetables were the worst sufferers as heavy rains during the monsoon hit the production of tomatoes and other vegetables and as a result the prices zoomed.

A local dealer Amit Sood said: “Flowers sold by the growers of the state during the games were not worth even worth even Rs 3 lakh, what to speak of the demand of Rs 30 crore. The only redeeming feature was that the festival season pushed up the demand for marigold and other locally grown varieties providing some returns to the growers, he added. “The Chail area has emerged as a floriculture hub but not a single grower has bagged any order,” laments a local grower, KD Sharma.

The restrictions on the movement of vehicles in the games area added to the problem. Those who have raised loans to set up greenhouses will find it difficult to make repayments.