Godavari Flower Expo draws 24,000 visitors

Published On: October 29, 2016 01:30 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (center) and Speaker of the Parliament Onsari Gharti Magar (3rd from left) attend a tea party organized by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) on the occasion of the Tihar festival on Friday. Photo Courtesy: Fncci Handout/Republica

LALITPUR, Oct 29: The Godawari Flower Expo 2016 has recorded transactions worth Rs 2.8 million in the last three days.

Ram Prasad Timilsina, vice president of Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), said the annual event has attracted 24,000 visitors in the past three days.

The expo kicked off at the Jawalakhel Ground, Lalitpur, on Wednesday.

“We are overwhelmed by visitors' turnout and the transactions. All the stalls are doing brisk business,” added Timilsina.

Tirtha Bahadur Maharjan, the owner of Samjhana Nursery which bagged the best stall award, said that he plans to add more flowers in his stall. “I am hopeful of getting more visitors on Saturday - the last day of the expo,” he added.

Organizers say that the visitors are attracted toward different varieties of flowers.

“Visitors have been looking for various species of Godavari flower (chrysanthemum). As Tihar is the festival of flowers, the festival is attracting many visitors,” Rudra Kumar Sunar, the owner of TTR Banglamukhi Nursery, said. He further added that his stall is doing business worth around Rs 50,000 on a daily basis.

Krishna Bahadur Dulal, the owner of Buddha Harsha Nursery, said that this kind of expo will help to boost the morale of floriculture entrepreneurs.

The expo, which has been organized on the occasion of Tihar and Chhath festivals, features 42 stalls showcasing different varieties of flowers, fruit plants, composts, seeds and fertilizers, among others. Similarly, some stalls provide information about different varieties of flowers to the visitors.

Kumar Kasaju, president of the Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), said that the association was expecting total turnover of Rs 3.5 million during the expo. “One of the main objectives of the expo is to provide flowers to people easily for Tihar and Chhath festivals when demand increases manifolds,” he added.

According to FAN, floriculture industry recorded business of Rs 1.34 billion in Year 2015/2016. The floriculture business is providing employment to 41,000 people, according to the association