Imphal, January 28 2010: In recent times, selling flowers in Imphal markets is becoming a good income earning business among other petty businesses nowadays.

People doing this business can now easily maintain their families with ease.

Urbanization and increasing population in the city area has left people with very little space for gardening in residential area in Imphal.

Alive to this situation, many people have taken up flower business for earning a livelihood with remarkable success.

Among them is 66 year old widow, Ahongsangbam Sana of Bamdiyar.

She is maintaining her family of five childrentwo daughters and three sons by selling flowers of different kinds in the Kwairamband Bazar.

Sana came out in the market to do the business after the death of her husband some 10 year back.

With her business she can run her family very easily and bear the expense of sending her five children to school, she added.

Another woman in the same business, 73 year old Leitongbam Pishak wife of L Khamba said that she has been engaged in the business for the last around 20 year.

According to her revelation, the business of selling flower was first started by some woman vender from Hiyangthang area.

They are selling all kinds of flowers available with the season like dahlias, lotus, lily, warak kundo, juba kusum, rose, leihou, kundo, marigold (sanarei) etc.

Among the flowers, marigold is the preferred flower by the customers.

Next to it comes the dahlia and rose.

She could sell an attractive and good looking rose and dahlia flower for even Rs 5 at times.

There were instances when these flowers were sold for Rs 10 per piece but on an average she sold at the rate of Rs 3 per piece.

Leitanthem Bina (47) of Porompat Kshetri Leikai said some of the flowers sold by them were grown in their own garden but most of the flowers were collected from gardeners.

Many people distribute flowers at wholesale rate.

Which are then bought by these women flower venders and sold at retail price.

Flowers are brought mostly from Thoubal, Heirok, Khumbong and from hill areas.

So, they could stock all kinds of flowers most of the time.

Bina further said that she has been engaged in the business for the last two years in place of her mother who had maintained the family with the income from the business.

By selling flower, they could earn a profit ranging from Rs 50 to 200 per day.

Some times, flower venders running their business near the temples do brisk business selling to the people coming to worship at the temple.

During the festival season, which is the peak season for these flower vendors, they earn substantial profits while in the rest of the year, they earn enough to run their family with some measure of comfort.

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