Marketing board mulls flower mandi

Subhash Rajta
Tribune News Service
Shimla, March 10

Himachal could soon have a flower mandi of its own. Flower growers raised a demand for a local mandi in their recent meeting with the State Agricultural Marketing Board, and the latter sees a lot of merit and potential in their appeal. “It’s a very genuine demand and if all goes well, we could start our own flower markets in Parwanoo and Una,” said state Agricultural Marketing Board managing director (MD) Naresh Thakur. “We will shortly have a meeting with the buyers to check if they would be willing to set up shops within the state,” he said.

Currently, flower growers from across the state have to transport and sell their produce at the famous Gazipur Flower Mandi in Delhi. Flowers are sent in buses and vehicles transporting vegetables as arranging separate vehicles is not cost-effective. Due to the lack of proper transport facilities, a significant part of the produce gets wasted before reaching the mandi. “Also, as the mandi is far away, growers cannot accompany their produce every time. As a result, there is no transparency in prices we get. If we have our own mandis, all these issues will be addressed,” said Ram Gopal, a flower grower from Jubbarhatti near Shimla. “Also, exotic vegetables like broccoli, red and yellow capsicums, etc, should also be sold in these mandis.”

What gives the Marketing Board MD the confidence to establish a viable local flower market is the fact that the state is the largest producer of varieties likes carnation, lilium, marigold etc and the quality, too, is top-notch.