The lotus, a crucial flower for Durga Puja rituals, has seen a dramatic drop in production this year because of the recent floods anderratic rainfall.

Farmers in several districts of south Bengal report that their lotus yield has been cut by half compared to previous years.

Srikanta Mete, a farmer from Kalna in East Burdwan, shared his plight: “I cultivated lotus in 12 ponds across five acres, investing ₹1.2 lakh. With such low production this year, I’m facing a loss of ₹50,000.”

Having cultivated lotus for 12 years, he is particularly distressed by this season’schallenges.

The September floods devastated local agriculture, overflowing many lotus ponds and washing away plants and buds.

Typically, a single lotus plant yields around 20 blooms, and farmers can harvest up to 20,000 flowers per acre in autumn.

“Durga Puja increases the demand for lotus, so we begin storing flowers in cold storage from mid-September,” explained Biswanath Midya, another farmer from East Burdwan.

“However, with the floods hitting at the same time, we couldn’t store the flowersas planned.”

Despite some plants regrowing after the waters receded, the continued heavy rains destroyed the new buds that could have produced a significant number of blooms, he said.

While the agriculture department lacks specific data on lotus production, several districts — such as East Burdwan, Hooghly, East Midnapore, Birbhum and Bankura — are known for their lotus cultivation.

Farmers typically lease ponds from their owners for significant sums, often paying ₹8,000-10,000 in advance. Many also take loans to fund their cultivation efforts.

Dhruba Malakar, a lotus farmer from Labhpur in Birbhum, said: “I paid ₹60,000 upfront for my pond leases. This year, my total income won’t exceed ₹15,000 due to low production.” Malakar took a ₹1 lakh loan to support his farming.

Many farmers have received advance payments from wholesalers, promising to supply flowers for Durga Puja.

However, with the current shortfall, they are anxious about fulfilling these commitments. “We’ve informed our customers about theshortage, but they insist we find a way to deliver,” said a farmer from Birbhum, stressing the pressure tomeet demands.

Flower traders anticipate that the decreased supply will drive up prices. “A lotus currently costs ₹35, up from ₹15 last year, and we expect prices could reach ₹100 as Durga Puja nears,” said a traderin Birbhum.

Jayanta Malakar, another lotus farmer, said that wholesalers have started importing lotus fromBangalore to meet demand. “As soon as they realised our production was low, they placed ordersfrom agencies in Bangalore. Traders will manage to survive, but we are facing ruin during this festival,” he lamented.