Vijay Bahadur Maurya was an unhappy farmer in Salon in Rae Bareli till a few years ago.
His farm land faced a problem of water seepage from a nearby drain and the crop yield could not even recover the basic costs.
Maurya had almost made up his mind to give up farming and migrate to the city in search of a job.
Then he decided to give a final try and took eight bighas of land elsewhere on lease. Instead of traditional crops, he planted roses and gladioli.
"Within months, 'meri kismet khil gayi' as the flowers began to bloom. I sold the flowers at a neat profit and made some good money too. I gave up plans to migrate and decided to concentrate on flower farming here," said Maurya, 50.
Seeing the profit in flower cultivation, about two dozen farmers in the area followed suit and are making the business bloom.
Vijay Bahadur Maurya's son has done his masters in agriculture and now works with his father. "My son keeps himself informed of the later techniques and we use it in the farming. The flowers helped me educate him and he is helping in flower cultivation now," he said proudly.
Maurya, sells his flowers to wholesalers in Lucknow, Kanpur, Unnao and Allahabad.
"The demand for flowers continues through the year and the market is growing because people now opt for flower decorations in wedding and plastic decorations are being shunned," he said.
Jiten accuses RO of West Parliamentary seat for being ‘biased’ in election process; writes ECI
The Leader of Opposition and also the CPI(M) state secretary Jitendra Chaudhury on Thursday accused the Returning Officer of the West Parliamentary constituency of the Lok Sabha Dr Vishal Kumar over his ‘discriminatory’ attitude towards the opposition parties.
MHA extends AFSPA in parts of Arunachal and Nagaland for 6 more months
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in certain districts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh for another six months with effect from April 1, officials said on Thursday.
Arunachal was, is, and will remain an integral part of India: MEA
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday that China's repetitive claims on Arunachal Pradesh will not change India's position, and the northeastern state will remain an integral and inalienable part of India.
‘To browbeat and bully others is vintage Congress culture', says PM Modi on lawyers’ letter to CJI
Reacting to an open letter to the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, which was signed by over 600 advocates on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that to "browbeat and bully others is the vintage culture of the Congress".
'Unacceptable, unwarranted': India again slams US' remarks on Arvind Kejriwal
Calling the US State Department's remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal "unwarranted", India on Thursday said that any such external imputation on the electoral and legal process is completely unacceptable.
Excise policy case: Delhi court extends CM Kejriwal's ED custody till April 1
CM Kejriwal, whose alleged role in the excise policy scam is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), was produced before Special Judge Kaweri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court on the expiry of his six-day ED remand on Thursday.
CM not above law, says ED as Kejriwal questions rationale behind his arrest
"The case has been going on for two years. The case was filed on August 17. No court has found me guilty. There are no charges against me nor has any case been filed against me. But I have been arrested," he said.
Ukrainian FM arrives in India to build on talks between PM Modi, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In a first high-level visit by a Ukrainian leader since the start of hostilities with Russia in 2022, Kuleba began his two-day official visit at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.