India: "Flower growers aren’t eligible for any compensation no matter how big the loss is"

Their fields, which were flourishing with fresh and lively marigold blooms until a few days ago, had the flower-growing farmers in Punjab hoping for a golden harvest this festive season. However, those hopes were short-lived. The sudden spell of rain in the state has flattened the marigold crop that was ready for harvest in the fields. Even as Navratris have started, marking the onset of a long festive season, private buyers are now refusing to purchase the droopy, rotten, and moisture-filled marigolds, leaving a handful of flower growers in the state in a difficult situation.

“Even those growing wheat and paddy haven’t received any compensation yet for the crops submerged in recent floods, so it would be a cruel joke for flower growers like us to expect anything. Regardless of the size of the loss, the government has never considered us farmers,” says Deep Singh from Taran Wali village of Ferozepur near the Indo-Pak border, whose 2-acre marigold field has been ravaged by the recent rain.

“For the first time in the past five years, since I started growing flowers, there was a glimmer of hope to earn some profits this Navratri and Diwali. My field was full of blooms. The rain in the past two days has left us devastated again. The flowers are now filled with moisture and have rotted. Private shopkeepers and traders have refused to buy them. Since there is no mandi system for flowers, we are at the mercy of private shopkeepers,” says Deep.