Flower business in Guwahati in full bloom

GUWAHATI, Oct 13: Every morning a stretch of the city along the mighty Brahmaputra is filled with fragrances giving the passerby a feeling of spirituality and festivity.

The people from different parts of Greater Guwahati areas turn up at this stretch near Sukreswar temple and Fancy Bazar to buy fresh and beautiful flowers of various types such as lililums and roses used for decoration, lotus or the marigold used in religious functions, different types of cut flowers and ornamental flowers. The demand for such flowers is growing everyday and the flower shops are mushrooming across the city.

With the season of festivals and wedding that has started ringing the flower business in the city appears to be in full bloom. Original, fresh and exotic flowers top the list even though people seem eager to splurge on decorative items.

Unlike a few years ago when wedding flowers meant marigolds, tuberose and roses, the market today has been swept by some imported flowers such as orchids, liliums, carnations, gerbera and daisies. These flowers can be arranged in bouquets, in different shapes and patterns, depending on the florist’s imagination.

While many of these flowers are sourced from places like Hajo, Rangiya, Morigaon and Nagaon, a huge quantum of flowers are being brought from wholesale flower markets outside Assam as the State has not been able to produce enough flowers to meet the ever increasing demand for fresh flowers.

Flower sellers in the city prefer the flowers procured from outside the State to meet the demand of flower decorators. They said flowers supplied by local farmers are inferior in quality. Even though flowers from Kolkata, Hajo, Morigaon and Nagaon meet the daily demand, various types of flowers including the imported ones are procured from Bangalore to meet specific demand during special occasions and events.

Dipak Sarma, a wholesaler and decorator at Fabcy Bazar says that the flowers sold by him are primarily sourced from Kolkata. “Quality of flowers brought from Kolkata for decoration is far better in quality than those supplied from Hajo. Moreover flowers procured from Hajo cannot meet our requirement. So we bring flowers from Kolkata,” he said.

Pradyumna Malakar, who has been selling flowers in front of Sukreswar temple for the last three decades, says that flower business can be an ideal option for the State’s youths to become self-employed. He cites an example that the price of a lotus bud may range from Rs 1 to Rs 300 depending on the demand during different religious occasions. He sells 1.5 to 2 lakh pieces of lotus in front of the city’s Kamakhya temple or Navagraha temple during religious festivals.

Hajo in Kamrup district has seen spurt in floriculture production in the recent years. Farmers are producing anthuriums and gerbera besides marigolds. Besides other engagements the villagers at Hajo are also engaged in floriculture activities and many of these families have a flower garden. The ever increasing demand for flowers has also motivated many families in Nagaon, Morigaon and Rangiya to take up floriculture as the new source of livelihood.

Dipen Malakar, a flower seller from Hajo says that Kolkata supplies better quality flowers to Guwahati flower market at cheaper prices as compared to flowers grown in Hajo area. He says that the flower growers in Hajo are now adopting various modern technologies on increasing production while maintaining the quality with the help of Horticulture department.

Zopar Export Private Limited, a flower exporter, has been supplying flowers to flower boutiques in and around Guwahati for more than 10 years. The company has its own flower gardens in Aizawl and Shillong. They bring flowers to Guwahati in refrigerator vans and supply to other cities by air.

“There is a huge potential for further growth of flower market in the city. Guwahati has now two five-star hotels which require flowers every day. Besides, flower decoration has become a fad in banks, restaurants various institutions,” says another flower seller.

The Horticulture Department has also initiated a number of schemes for infrastructure development, use of modern technology and providing subsidies to flower growers to encourage them. A Centre of Excellence has been built at Khetri to facilitate cultivations of better quality roses, gerbera, anthuriums that will fetch better prices. A similar centre has also been set up at Barama near Samaguri in Nagaon district.

An official in the Agriculture department says even though it is difficult to assess the actual demand of flowers in Guwahati market, the total annual business of this market could be to the tune of several crores of rupees.