Flower prices shoot up on the occasion of Varalakshmi Vratham in Tirupati

Tirupati: Flower prices skyrocketed on the occasion of Varalakshmi Vratham on Friday, the festival for family prosperity observed by married women. Many poor and middle class could not afford flowers to offer to the Goddess on the auspicious day. Even those from well-to-do families restricted their purchase.

The flower traders in Tirupati took advantage of the need of the women hiked up prices and made a fast buck. The poor flower cultivation in the district and artificial demand created by the wholesale merchants is the reason for the price hike. Many wholesalers in Bengaluru and Chennai market created artificial demand and sold the stock at abnormal rates.

Crossandra flowers sold at Rs 1,000 per kg while other flowers like chrysanthemums and marigold were sold by the merchants at Rs 300 to Rs 400 which otherwise is hardly Rs 80 per kg. Women were seen expressing their dismay at the high prices.

"Why are you blaming us amma? We are only the medium between buyers and wholesalers. We are helpless and have nothing to do with the high prices," said Siva, a sub-wholesale trader in Tirupati.

But, the fact is many wholesalers who bought flowers at normal rates made a killing by cashing in on sentiments. The belief is that prosperity will be showered on those who offer plenty of flowers to Goddess Lakshmi.

Chandrasekhar Shastry, the priest of Siddhi Vinayaka temple in Kapila Teertham rued the callousness of the wholesalers. Buyers sighed in relief when they found that fruit prices were marginally higher than regular days.