Flower prices up due to ‘short supply’

KATHMANDU, NOV 04 -

Though there were relatively fewer vehicles plying on the road on Sunday afternoon, the Laxmi Puja day, pavements were bustling with pedestrians purchasing goods for the Tihar festival.

People seemed busy at flower shop in a corner of Chabahil Chowk, fiddling with the marigold flowers and bargaining with the vendor. “These are local flowers , not imported ones. Have a look,” Chandra Bahadur Karki, a vendor, tried to convince his buyers. “Rs 100 is too much. I will pay Rs 80,” said Laxmi Gurung, who hails from Baglung. According to vendors there, a single marigold flower costs Rs 20 while a fresh garland costs as much as Rs 150. “There has been short supply of flowers as we did not import from India,” said Loknath Gaire, president of the Floriculture Association of Nepal.