BENGALURU: Amidst the double whammy of extreme heat and parched conditions, flower vendors from the bustling city market to local nurseries and flower shops, find themselves grappling with dire consequences as their businesses are severely hit.
As a response, some vendors have raised the price of flowers to ensure they sell them fresh before the day heats up while others are managing by selling them at usual prices throughout the day to sustain their livelihood.
Many vendors said that the absence of cold storage facilities to store flowers in the hot weather has affected their business.
“By 9 am itself, the flowers begin drooping under the harsh sun, giving them a dull appearance. There is no proper water source to refresh the flowers, nor do we have proper cold storage facilities. The customers demand fresh flowers but we do not have any alternatives,” a flower vendor at KR Market said.
Subhash, another vendor said, “We lack proper infrastructure to protect flowers from the sun. So we started bringing them in around 12.30 am and informed our customers that we would start selling them between 4 am to 5 am to ensure they stay fresh.”
Previously, not many vendors started by 12.30-1 am, but now everyone does. “We are severely affected this year. Everyone is competing for just an extra Rs 5-10. Even wholesale sellers are not offering the usual prices because flowers are wilting quickly which is resulting in decreased sales for them as well,” Subhash added.
Not just flowers, neem leaves, and tulsi, too, are drying up in less than two hours, Gayathri, a vendor in Malleswaram said and pointed out that due to the non-functional RO unit throughout the day, there is no water to keep them fresh. The entire cycle of vendors purchasing from us to sell outside temples has almost come to a halt. All our earnings are spent on transportation, there is nothing left for us.
Roses are the most preferred by customers and are the most affected by the heat. Apart from other flowers like lilies and orchids, roses start looking dull if the weather heats up even a little, Veeresh, a florist said.
“To shield the stack from the sun, if we pack it tightly, the rose appears lifeless, but if left as is, it dries up. To maintain current sales, we are selling a bouquet of approximately 10 roses for around Rs 300, which is Rs 70-100 more than the usual price. Although we are purchasing flowers in smaller quantities, we still need to maintain variety to sustain our business. Almost every day, the quantity of flowers discarded exceeds the quantity of flowers sold,” Veeresh added.