RAWALPINDI: Makeshift flower stalls have been established near all graveyards, main markets and bazaars in the city as there is a rise in the demand for wreaths and garlands in Eidul Fitr, when people visit the graves of their loved ones and lay flowers on them.

Flower dealers in Banni Market say the demand for flowers increases during the two Eids and that they were expecting to sell between 25,000 and 30,000 kilogrammes of flowers the day before Eid.

“We have to arrange for ice to put with the flowers so they remain fresh, as they spoil soon in the hot weather,” said a flower seller, Mohammad Javed.

Consumers, on the other hand, are criticising the local administration for not keeping a check on stall holders, who are selling flower petals for Rs500 per kg when the rate for the same weight of petals was Rs150 just two days ago.

Demand for garlands and rose petals increase as people visit graves of their loved ones on Eid

A customer, Shujaat Raja, said the stallholders were asking for more money because they knew people had to buy them before visiting the graves of their loved ones.

Another customer, Mubashir Malik also criticised the high prices of flowers and said he had come to buy garlands for his father and uncle who will be completing their aitekaf.

He said shop owners offer false excuses of shortage of supply when asked why they are charging increased prices.

“This is wrong and should be checked by the local administration,” he said.

Shop owners on the other hand, say they have to bring flowers from far, which is why they have to charge an increased amount.

“We bring flowers from Peshawar and Pattoki as there are no flower fields in the Rawalpindi division. Rose and glide come in from Pattoki and marigold from Peshawar and we have to buy them at an increased price,” said Mohammad Irfan, who owns a shop at the flower market.

Rose and marigold are more in demand during Eid, he added.

Cleaning graveyards Rawal Town, Potohar Town Municipal Administration and the Rawalpindi and Chaklala Cantonment Boards are yet to launch cleanliness campaigns in graveyards which the Punjab government had ordered for before Eid.

The provincial government had directed the local administration to clean all 1,994 graveyards in the district before the monsoon season.

Local residents cleaned graveyards on Tuesday and removed shrubs from graves.

“The Ratta Amral graveyard was in bad condition but when people would come to visit the graves of their loved ones in Ramazan, they would clean a little as well,” said Naeem Ahmed, a resident of Chaklala Scheme III who had come to the graveyard to offer a prayer for his late grandfather.

He said the local administration had left graveyards unattended and that heaps of garbage could be seen at most graveyards.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2016