A consignment of lotus will be exported to Bangladesh from Malda ahead of Durga Puja for the first time.

Preparations are on to pack the lotuses in specially designed containers so that the flowers remain fresh.

Every year, hundreds of Durga Pujas are held in Bangladesh. In capital Dhaka alone, over 200 Durga Pujas are organised, said sources.

Although this export is being made privately, officials of the state horticulture department have hailed it and said it would boost floriculture in Malda and nearby districts.

Uzzal Saha, convener of Malda Cold Storage Owners’ Association and general secretary of a state-level exporters’ association, said some importers from Dhaka expressed interest in high quality lotus flowers for Durga Puja.

“We received an export order of around 4 lakhs lotuses for now,” Saha said.

Sources said the lotuses will be sent to Bangladesh by road via Malda’s Mahadipur land port. “The consignment will be sent to Dhaka and from there to other places,” an exporter said.

Hundreds of people have been engaged to pack the lotus in special containers. “These containers will be preserved at cold storages till October 10, then loaded in trucks that will head for Bangladesh the next day,” Saha said.

The lotuses, he said, are being sold at Rs 20 apiece to Bangladesh importers.

The flower grows in Bangladesh but this time its production was low there, necessitating their import from Bengal ahead of Durga Puja.

Krishnendu Nandan, a deputy director of the state horticulture department, said so far Malda mangoes were exported to Bangladesh, but now flowers can also be exported.

“So far, the most prominent product of Malda that was exported to Bangladesh was the mango. Now it seems that flowers can be exported too,” the official said.