Bihar: 50,000 throng flower exhibition

PATNA: More than 15,000 plants of different varieties were sold at the two-day flower exhibition-cum-competition, which concluded at Gyan Bhawan on Saturday. Several rare and exotic plants were also displayed at the event organised by the state agriculture department.
As many as 140 florists, who took part in the competition, were felicitated on the occasion. Pavan Kumar Sarraf from Bhagalpur received the first prize.
Speaking at the event, agriculture department secretary N Saravana Kumar said, “The purpose of organizing this exhibition was to promote commercial production of flowers in the state. There is a huge gap between the production and consumption of flowers here.”
Meanwhile, florists claimed that visitors mostly bought hibiscuses and roses from them. Shambhu Kumar Chaurasia, the owner of a nursery in Vaishali, told this newspaper, “Earlier, nature lovers planted flowers and trees. Now, they have become a necessity.”
Several stalls at the exhibition also displayed floral pots. Indrajeet Kumar, a nursery owner from Patna, said, “I have colourful, brown, hanging and double-hanging pots. A lot of people purchased the colourful ones.”
Over 50,000 people reportedly thronged the two-day exhibition. Astha Shrivastava, who bought shrubs and exotic plants, said, “The exhibition has a huge range of plants. More such events should be organised.”