East Champaran becoming hub of flower trade

 With farmers shifting to flower cultivation in a big way, East Champaran, from where Mahatama Gandhi tested the potential of satyagraha against British rule, is fast emerging as a hub of the flower trade.

According to an estimate the flower trade in the district, about 100 km from the state capital, is valued at Rs five crore annually at present.

More than 500 farmers, big and small, have left cultivation of paddy and sugarcane and shifted to cultivation of flowers.

Vast tracts of land in Motihari, Madhuban, Pakridayal and Chakia blocks could be seen blossoming with flowers. Rajnigandha, Lilly and Chandramauli are the popular varieties of flowers grown here.

Lalbabu Chaurasia, owner of Ravi flowers centre and who is in the trade for last 32 years, told that over 500 farmers of the district have shifted to flower cultivation and are reaping rich commercial gain.

Since the district is on border with Nepal, sending the flowers to international markets through Nepal earns a handsome profit. Besides, flowers in bulk are sent to West Bengal, he said.

With flower trade gaining popularity, more than 25 shops selling flowers have come up in the heart of Motihari town which is popularly known as “Phool gaon” (flowers village).

Chaurasia said earlier the flower trade was marginal with some in neighbouring districts of Muzaffarpur, Sheohar and Gorakhpur.

“But, the trade has picked up in last 3-4 years making it a profitable business for hundreds of farmers,” another farmer Sanjay Pandey said.

Shivendra Kumar, another farmer, said with the trade becoming profitable workers from neighbouring West Bengal were also flocking here to ean Rs 10,000-12,000 per month.

District Horticulture Officer Dharamvir Panday said the government was promoting cultivation of flowers by giving almost 90 per cent subsidy on cultivation of gladius.

The government has set up poly houses at four places in the district to train farmers in floriculture, he added.

Farmers are shifting to flower cultivation in East Champaran where Mahatama Gandhi tested the potential of satyagraha, emerging as hub of flower trade

4,311 cases pending in SC/ST police stations in Bihar

Even as the Nitish Kumar government has laid thrust on justice for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, cases relating to atrocities on SC/ST are increasing and a good number of them are pending in police stations. "The cases are piling up because of the slow pace of their disposal,'' officials claim. According to official records available at the state police headquarters here, 4311 cases lodged under SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 are still pending with different SC/ST police stations up to May this year. The then National SC/ST Commission chairman Buta Singh, during his visit to Bihar on April 6, 2010, had expressed serious concern over the growing number of cases of atrocities, noting that hardly two per cent of them reach logical conclusion. While the number of cases of atrocities and repression were reported to be 3,723 in 2008, it rose to 5,129 in 2009 but then declined to 3,551 in 2010. State Additional Director-General of Police (Crime Investigation Department) A S Nimbran said there are seven to eight such districts where 50 per cent of cases of atrocities are pending and these are normally the districts where very less number of cases are registered every year. Nimbran confided that there are 200 cases of atrocities and repression being registered in Bihar every month. There are 239, 196, 186, 180, 167, 141 and 121 cases pending in the districts of Muzaffarpur, Saran, Begusarai, Motihari, Gaya, Patna and Gopalganj districts, respectively, he said.

18 child labourers from Bihar rescued from Delhi

Eighteen child labourers, who were rescued from New Delhi by the officers of Bihar Labour department with the help of Delhi police and and NGO were brought to Patna by a train.

Mukhatarul Haque, State convenor of Bacchpan Bachao Andolan, a Patna based NGO told reporters here that the child labourers reached Patna by Shramjeevi express who were received by deputy labour commissioner Ramchandra Choudhry.

Choudhry later sent the child labourers to their respective villages under escort.

Of the 18 released children, six each belonged to Darbhanga and Sitamarhi, two to Samastipur and one each to Motihari, Purnea, Katihar and Begusarai districts, Haque said adding that they were engaged in the bakery, shoe factory and zari making factories located in different parts of the national capital.

He said a fine of Rs 20,000 would be realised from the owners of these factories and the amount would be deposited in the account of state government's Child labour development fund. The fine money would be spent on the rehabilitation of the released child labourers, Haque said.link