Bathukamma festivities miss Sitamma Jada flowers

Farmers who go for plantation of Sitamma Jada crop this time avoided it anticipating that there may not be much demand for this variety of flower due to pandemic. A majority of the farmers did not sow the crop.

Peddapalli: Bathukamma is known as a festival of flowers. But this time, womenfolk are sure to miss one particular flower – Sitamma Jada, which is not available this season, thanks to the pandemic.

Farmers who go for plantation of Sitamma Jada crop this time avoided it anticipating that there may not be much demand for this variety of flower due to pandemic. A majority of the farmers did not sow the crop. As a result, shortage of flowers has been developed. Women failed to get flowers on the occasion of Engilipula Bathukamma celebrated on Saturday, beginning of a nine day Bathukamma festival.

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A farmer, Gurrala Gattaiah, who used to cultivate the flowers in 20 guntas every year, has sowed the flower in two guntas this year. A native of Sabbitham of Peddapalli mandal, Gattaiah cultivates Sitamma Jada as intercrop along with cotton sowed in five acres. Speaking to Telangana Today, Gattaiah said he thought that women would not play Bathukamma this year in the wake of Covid. So, he sowed the crop in just two guntas instead of 20 guntas.

There was no need to take additional risk to grow a four month duration crop since it is being cultivated as inter crop along with cotton. Pesticides and other sprays would be used to the crop along with cotton.

Last year, he got Rs 15,000 profit by selling sitammajada flowers. Like Gattaiah, a number of farmers from Sabbitham, Thenugupalle, Nagaram, Kamanpur and other villages would grow flowers every year.

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