Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA: Everybody talks about Covid-19 pandemic taking a toll on the world economy but back home, the pandemic has brought tears in the eyes of the hundreds and hundreds of growers and sellers of local flower called zayo (Jasmine Grandiflorum) as they scramble in unfriendly weather on roadsides, in towns and some time knock on each and every door just to find a buyer.
The closure of religious places and pause in the holding of religious festivals and rituals have literally robbed them of their livelihood, they lament.
Prior to all this, the picture was far rosier for these local flower growers and sellers. Local farmers had been selling zayo primarily to agents from Karwar who used to come to them and purchase the flowers in bulk.
It was all cash and carry as each farmer involved earned a decent amount in return.
The family members used to get up before dawn and pluck the flowers; the flowers were either sold as they were, or they used to make fatyo (flowers tied in an orderly manner with a string) which fetched a higher price.
These flowers were in massive demand in Karwar and surrounding areas before the pandemic. Today, with most religious places closed for devotees and the government also putting restrictions on religious ceremonies, the sale of the flowers has come down to nought informed many in Canacona.
Commonly the zayo buds were sold at rates more than a hundred for thousand buds, but since the pandemic, the rate has dropped to a mere fifty for thousand buds informed Tolu from Gaondongrem.
“We wake up as early as 3.00 in the morning, knit the plucked buds into a garland of standard size and sell, labour intensive. Still, since most of my family members are not employed, we all work together and earn our livelihood; there is no demand today. Our livelihood has taken a beating,” Tolu informed.
The demand keeps fluctuating, and sometimes we used to get even two hundred rupees for thousand buds. This is another case of an unorganised sector that used to give gainful employment for hundreds of people in rural areas in Canacona from July to November, he added.
The zayos are grown and harvested in various parts of Canacona like Gaondongrem, Khotigao, Poinguinim and Loliem; it generates a turnover of lakhs of rupees since last, so many years informed Sangtu Gaonkar from Khotigao.
Normally women from Canacona used to sell these garlands in Canacona, Karwar, Margao and Quepem, but with restrictions in movement, all are seen struggling to sell these flowers in Chaudi, the commercial town of Canacona.
Many women and men are seen zayo fathyos in Chaudi for the last few months, with no buyers. Most of the time, they take back the unsold stock informed a woman who comes to Chaudi in the morning and goes back to her house by the last bus going to her village in Gaondongrem.