Ranchi, July 31, 2013: With the beginning of the month of Shravan, sale of flowers and coconuts has shot up in the city. Throughout the season shopkeepers are unable to meet the great demand for flowers and coconuts leading to a shortage in supply. Especially on Mondays during this month, people visit various Shiva temples in Ranchi thus making these items essential.

Manoj Prasad, a flower vendor near Pahari Mandir, said, "I earn four times more in the month of Shravan than what I earn in any other month. The sale of flowers goes up in this month as almost every Hindu in the city offer flowers to Lord Shiva this time of the year."

Coconut also forms an important part of the puja. So, it too is in great demand during Shravan. The mushrooming shops selling flowers and coconuts around the major temples during this month try to cater to the people's demand. But, these too fall short of delivering the amount which people in the city require.

Satyavrata Das, a flower vendor, said, "Now we are bringing flowers from other cities every alternate day to meet the demand. We are getting flowers from Kolkata and Medinipur in West Bengal. Some vendors are even bringing flowers from Chattisgarh." He added, "The problem is that the production of flowers at the local level is very less so we have to bring them from other states. It would have been more convenient and cheaper for us if the flowers were available in Ranchi through proper horticulture."

Secretary of Market Committee of Ranchi, Amlendu Kumar, said he will be taking an initiative to increase the production of flowers. "If the production of flowers is increased at the local level then many will be employed. An amendment under the Jharkhand Agriculture Production Market Act, 2000 says that any private entrepreneur can get a licence for flower production. Thus, when the production starts we can also help in marketing it," Kumar said.

Coconuts are also brought to the city from West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala. A coconut vendor, Mahendra Patel, said, "There are more than 250 coconut vendors in the city and the approximate sale of coconuts in the month of Shravan can be estimated to be more than Rs2-3 crores. There is a probability that I alone will be able to sell coconuts worth more than Rs3 lakh."

Source: The Times of India, July 31, 2013