₹200-CRORE PLAN TO REDEVELOP GHAZIPUR’S WHOLESALE FLOWER MANDI
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will hire an agency for the redevelopment of the flower wholesale market in Ghazipur, which includes setting up amenities such as water supply, drainage, roads, constructing a centrally air-conditioned building and a cold storage facility in another two years.
The government has issued a tender for the project estimated to cost around ₹197.45 crore, for which the bids are open till March 5, said a senior government official.
“We are developing a modern flower market in Ghazipur. The facilities will be helpful for the traders, customers and hundreds of people who work in the market. The cold storage facility, in particular, will be immensely helpful in terms of scaling up supply, which will eventually increase the scale of flower trade in Delhi,” said Vijay Sisodia, chairperson of the agricultural produce market committee for flowers in Ghazipur.
Flower markets in Mehrauli, Fatehpuri and Baba Kharak Singh Marg (Connaught Place) were merged with a flower market in Ghazipur in 2011, giving shape to the present-day wholesale market that is said to be the biggest in Delhi.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government will hire an agency for the redevelopment of the flower wholesale market in Ghazipur, which includes setting up amenities such as water supply, drainage, roads, constructing a centrally air-conditioned building and a cold storage facility in another two years – a move that is likely to improve the supply of many flower varieties in the city.
The government has issued a tender for the project estimated to cost around ₹197.45 crore, for which the bids are open till March 5, said a senior government official and according to documents that HT has seen.
“We are developing a modern flower market in Ghazipur. The facilities will be helpful for the traders, customers and hundreds of people who work in the market. The cold storage facility, in particular, will be immensely helpful in terms of scaling up supply, which will eventually increase the scale of flower trade in Delhi,” said Vijay Sisodia, chairperson of the agricultural produce market committee for flowers in Ghazipur.
Flower markets in Mehrauli, Fatehpuri and Baba Kharak Singh Marg (Connaught Place) were merged with a flower market in Ghazipur in 2011, giving shape to the present-day wholesale market that is said to be the biggest in Delhi. There are 420odd licensed flower traders who operate from the market, and together they record an average annual turnout of around Rs 250 crore, said a senior government official who did not wish to be identified, adding that the trade is seasonal and witnesses a sharp rise during festivities and marriage seasons.
Flowers from across states arrive in the market. It also records imports from countries that include New Zealand, the Netherlands, South Africa and Thailand. The most common export destinations are US, UK, Germany and UAE, said traders.
Given the perishable nature of the product, cold storage is mandatory for the business. Some, such as daisies and tulips, need it more than others, said traders. Currently, most traders have either set up small storages within their shops or they hire services of cold storage facilities scattered across the city and manage with ice slabs and cold water in their shops.
“Because of inadequate cold storage facilities, traders often have to limit their stocks. This is one reason why wholesale traders in the city often run out of roses, tulips, daisies and gerberas when there is a spike in demand, especially if it is summer. A large centralised cold storage for the wholesale market would help address such shortages,” said Kisan Saini, a wholesale flower trader at Ghazipur.
Neeraj Singh of Virender florist, a retailer in New Friends Colony, said, The shortage has a cascading effect, which starts at the wholesale level and affects stocks of retail florists. The supply often fails to meet the demand. A central storage in Ghazipur can bridge the gap.”
IN MAY LAST YEAR, HT HAD REPORTED THAT THE PASS PERCENTAGE IN CLASS 11 HAD
GONE UP FROM 84.8% TO 96.2%
NEW DELHI: With less than three months to go for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board examination for students of classes 10 and 12, teachers and principals of Delhi government schools said they are concerned about low-scoring children who were promoted from classes 9 and 11 as per a revised assessment policy involving scores based on assignment and grace marks.
The move led to a significant increase in pass percentages for students of classes 9 and 11. In May last year, HT had reported that the pass percentage in class 9 had gone up from 58.6% in the previous academic session to 64.5%. For class 11, this number went from 84.8% to 96.2%.
Awadhesh Kumar Jha, head of Sarvodaya co-ed Vidyalaya in Rohini Sector 8, said most schools, including his, are engaging in targeted intervention for these students. “Children who were promoted on the basis of revised promotion policy are mostly the ones who weren’t able to attend online classes during the pandemic and don’t attend offline classes now..”
Last year following the Covid-19 lockdown, the Delhi government had devised a one-time revised promotion policy for students of class 9 and 11 where students were promoted using grace marks and assignments. Students who could not appear for their exams either due to the pandemic or the Delhi riots were given marks proportional to their mid-term results as well.
A senior education department official, who asked not be named, said, “These students are on the radar of our teachers and targeted interventions are being made for their learning. Schools have made a list of these students and are monitoring their performance and attendance regularly. Apart from sufficient writing practice and regular tests, teachers are focusing on lessons which will help students score easily. Additionally, teachers have ‘adopted’ such students and will look after the performance of that particular student.”
In addition to these, schools and teachers have devised their own methods to address the learning gaps. For instance, Jha said he had divided students into two groups on the basis of how they were promoted — via grace marks or assignment. “This helped teachers focus their attention to a homogenous group. We are now planning to print three sets of sample papers prepared by the education department for a particular subject, write the answers on those papers, and distribute among these students,” he said.
Bijesh Kumar Sharma, principal of Shaheed Hemu Kalani Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya, said the school had also taken help from the local community. “We have a lot of Afghan students who face language issues, or visually-impaired children who need assistance. Since we have been involved with the local community for the past few years, we roped in homemakers, volunteers, or members of resident welfare associations or non-governmental organisations (NGOS) who could help us,” he said.
Several principals said many among these students were not attending offline classes that started last month due to a host of reasons. Many were either untraceable, while some are now engaged in other work.
Mudassir Jahan, head of school at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya at Noor Nagar, said, “The attendance for these students is also low and we are trying to get them to school. We have made announcements through local mosques, asking students to attend for classes. The challenge here is that these students have to be motivated more than others to even attend school.”