With the Bathukamma festive season kicking off on Wednesday and Navaratri beginning on Thursday, flower vendors in the city are jubilant. Thanks to the rising demand for flowers and fruits, markets are teeming with customers, especially women, who are eager to purchase flowers for preparing the Bathukamma.According to flower vendors at the Gudimalkapur wholesale market, the demand for Banti (Marigold) and Chemanti (Chrysanthemum) has increased four to five times. Tangedu (Senna auriculata) and Gunugu (Celosia agrentea) flowers, which are mainly used to prepare the Bathukamma, are in great demand but are in short supply due to low production.
The season has created a ‘hungama’ of sorts at flower markets across the city, including Gudimalkapur, Jambagh and Ameerpet. After the state government declared Bathukamma a state festival, there has been a surge in demand for flowers with more and more people participating in the celebrations. The occasion brings great joy to one and all but it is also exhausting work for flower vendors. Shakeel Ahmed, a wholesale flower vendor at Gudimalkapur flower market, said that he had never seen such crowds in the past, though such a flurry of activity is common in the Bathukamma-Dasara season.
“Crowds flock to markets every Bathukamma season but the last two years are different,” he said. On the other hand, production of common flowers like Banti and Chemanti is on the rise and the growing demand is being met by the increased supply. The increase in demand has, naturally, pushed up the prices of these flowers. While this may not be great news to the women participating in Bathukamma, but vendors are certainly happy about it.
The Gudimalkapur flower market is receiving nearly 60 tonnes of Banti and 25 tonnes of Chemanti flowers every day this festive season. “During normal days, the market gets not more than 20 tonnes of Banti and Chemanti but as the season begins the supply increases gradually,” said another wholesale flower vendor Shanker Yadav. “The prices of flowers are gradually increasing. The price of Banti is anywhere between D80 and D110 per kg now,” he added.Meanwhile, the prices of Tangedu and Gunugu will have risen to between`20 and`30 per a bunch and the price varies on the dyeing colour and size of the flower. One can find people selling these flowers at Ameerpet, Amberpet and other major localities.
Flowers are brought from various states
Tangedu and Gunugu are procured from Medak, Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts.
Banti and Chemanti are procured from Maharashtra, Karnataka, TN, and Adilabad and Nizamabad in TS.
Huge rise in production and sale of Banti and Chemanti.
Retail price of Banti in the city ranges between D80 and D110 per kg.
Tangedu and Gunugu prices range between D20 and D30 a bunch.