Bengaluru: Florists body, farmers protest ban on giving bouquets at events

Bengaluru: A florist association and various farmers organisations on Thursday held a protest in Bengaluru against a Karnataka government order which bans giving garlands, bouquets, fruits and other gifts at official programmes. The order asks for people to be given Kannada books instead.

“Around 7,500 hectares of land is under flower cultivation in Karnataka. Many families are dependent on growing flowers. The government is giving subsidies to set up poly houses and many youngsters have started growing flowers. But due to the pandemic, there are no events like marriages and functions taking place which in turn has affected the demand for flowers in the international market and also in the country,” South India Floriculture Association (SIFA) president T M Aravind said.

“Banning flowers in government events is not a logical solution. Amid the pandemic, the government should offer us support and help us market the flowers but is rather issuing orders which will create unnecessary losses to flower growers and vendors,” he added.