Valentine’s Day a thorny affair for flower vendors

BENGALURU: While the city did not witness any serious instances of moral policing on Valentine’s Day, those who sold roses for gifting on Thursday faced a warning of a different kind. Officials of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), were out in full force to educate shopkeepers about the dangers of using plastic to wrap flowers.

The festival of love saw prices of red roses shoot up to `300 per bunch in several areas. Not having anticipated the demand, flower shop owners made a beeline to the city market area to stock up on red roses a day before. Sales were strong, leaving florists a happy lot.

But for many, who chose to cut corners and use plastic, banned in the city, there was a heavy price to pay. BBMP along with Beautiful Bengaluru and Bangalore Eco Team raided flower shops across the city on Wednesday and Thursday to fine those who had excessive usage of plastic. The raid was headed by Manoranjan Hegde, Chief Health Officer, BBMP. A total of 89 flower shops were raided, 160 kg of plastic seized and a penalty of `84,500 was collected.

However, the raid was just the sharp end of BBMP’s plan to increase awareness on the plastic ban. Health and solid waste department officials also spread awareness about plastic ban violation and methods of segregation. “Most of the florists in the city do not know how to dispose flower waste. They dump plastic with flower stems and leaves because of which the green waste cannot be composted. It either gets burnt or dumped,” said Manoranjan Hegde, CHO, BBMP. “The flower waste could be composted and converted to a resource if segregated properly.”

The campaign was conducted on the 13th and 14th of this month and officials also advised owners to avoid using plastic to decorate the flowers. “We want to educate the users and make them understand plastic is banned. Also, we want to work with the officials and help them to enforce strict rules. We are sure this combination will work well,” said Odette Katrak, co-founder, Beautiful Bengaluru.