T.M. Aravind, president of the South India Floriculture Association, was shocked when he heard the news about Karnataka government banning the practice of giving garland, shawls, and other gift items at government events, terming it an unnecessary expenditure. The government move was surprising as the ban was imposed without consulting their association or other floriculturists in the state.
“The ban was sudden. There is no logic or scientific reason behind the ban. As per Indian tradition, flowers and bouquets are gifted to generate positive energy,” Aravind told.
Many floriculturists in and around Bengaluru and other regions of the state feel that the ban will further hamper the revival prospects of the flower industry in the region, particularly in Bengaluru which accounts for around 80 percent of flower requirements of the country. With no events and prolonged lockdowns for more than a year, the floriculture industry in the state is already reeling under heavy losses.
“Due to the pandemic, there are no government events. Marriage ceremonies are not happening and there are no major events in the state. At a time when we were hoping for a revival post-pandemic, the state government has suddenly come up with this ban. It should be immediately lifted,” added Aravind.
Shrikanth Bollapally, president of Flower Council of India, said floriculture is an extensive employment generation sector, and around 7,500 hectares of area across Karnataka is being used to cultivate flowers in greenhouses. Besides, there are huge tracts of land that are being used for growing flowers without greenhouses across the state.
“This ban will be a huge loss to the greenhouse flower growers. If they want to ban something, they can ban plastic flowers that are imported from China. The idea of giving books is also not a good idea as they are printed on paper made out of wood. On average 15 people work on one hectare of land under flower cultivation. Setting up the greenhouse and cold storage on one hectare of land on average requires around Rs 1.35 crore of investment. On average, around 3 lakh roses are auctioned in Bengaluru on a daily basis. They are then transported within the state and rest of the country and even abroad after the auction,” Dr. Jayaprakash Rao, a major flower grower of Bengaluru told.
Read the complete article at www.theweek.in.