Kathmandu, Nepal: Tihar is right around the corner after a very slow paced completion of Dashain festival amid the coronavirus pandemic in Nepal. Every year Nepal imports a significant amount of flowers and garlands from India for the five days long festival.
There will be no imports this year since the market demand has decreased due to the ongoing pandemic and the domestic production of flowers have increased which will fulfill the current demands, says the president of Nepal Floriculture Association Kumar Kasaju.
Meanwhile, florists in the outskirts of Kathmandu are busy plucking Makhamali and Sayapatri flowers for the upcoming festival. “Thankfully we are not facing any cut in the demands. We have received several advanced orders for the flowers and have managed to sell flowers worth NRs. 100,000”, says Maya Bista, a florist in Gundu, Bhaktapur.
Likewise, the flower business has been good for the 53 year old Rupa Rai who has been in the business for the last 32 years. “I was terrified that we might face a decrease in sales this year due to the lockdown and the pandemic but I had a successful business like previous years”, says Rupa Rai.
Nishant Gurung/Nepalese Voice
