Manik’s innovative flower-fruit van turns tourist attraction

His van is packed with colours, enticing tourists and passersby alike due to the remarkable floral display. A huge number of flower varieties can be seen in his van. He cultivated 13–14 types of hydrangeas, fuchsias, and numerous mountain flowers. Manik grows all of them in his home garden.

He has no permanent shop, using his mobile van for selling his products. He decorates his van with flowers every morning, parks by the roadside, and returns home in the evening. He has had enough money to run his family comfortably. Along with this, he has provided employment to 8-10 locals.

He is ambitious as well. He has been taking a keen interest in kiwi farming, which can be grown easily in the hilly regions due to adequate weather. Several farmers and tourists purchase kiwi plants from him; the price of a set of five kiwi plants is about Rs 1000, while begonia flowers sell for Rs 150–Rs 300, and the cost of other flowers starts at Rs 50.

Manik’s main income comes from his flower and fruit businesses. His mobile van is so popular that tourists from metropolitan cities buy flowers and kiwi plants from him. His work is an example for the local people that innovative techniques fetch money and a man can be self-reliant even in small cities or towns.