Sikkim's Daramdin village -a home to rare species of rose

Gangtok (Sikkim) [India], Sept. 9 (ANI): Daramdin village, approximately 120 kilometres from capital town Gangtok in Sikkim, is a home to various species of rose. Villagers, especially women, here cultivate huge quantity of rose and sell its wide varieties. Sikkim is known for its rich organic farming as the majority of the population in the state depends upon agriculture directly or indirectly. The state has grown a large floriculture industry giving the local florists a chance to earn their livelihood and providing a platform for budding entrepreneurs. "There are various qualities of roses and depending on the quality the marketing expands. The cost varies from Rs. three to Rs. five and in a month we supply roses nearly more than one lakh and whatever income we generate from it we pay it for the rent and pay it to the labourers who works hard in procuring organic stuff. One family earns around 1-1.5 lakh who works for product packaging," said K.N. Koushik, a caretaker. For effective yield from rose cultivation, the government is taking several initiatives and has provided them with a greenhouse. It is worth mentioning that rose cultivation in the village covers more than one hectare of land of the area. At present, there are six women and two men looking after the rose nursery in the village. "We have started the rose cultivation in the year 2006. I personally started rose farming in the village during summers. Earlier, we use to cultivate in the open field but later the Government provided us with the greenhouse. We have received immense help from the Government and the department is providing us with all the facilities including medicines, water etc," said Manita Pradhan, rose gardener. She also said that earlier, they used to apply chemical fertilizers but now it's pure organic. "We use manure of cow and goat. We sell these roses permanently in three markets including Gangtok, Mainam and Siliguri," she added. More than one lakh roses are produced every month which generates revenue for the villagers as well as for the state. Varied species of rose in different colours- yellow, green, red and pink are found in the garden area of the village. People from all across the state and other parts of the country purchase the wide varieties of rose for varied puposes. Sikkim, also a major tourist attraction for domestic and international tourist, now has added a new feather to its cap with its highly expanded floriculture industry. (ANI)