Produce in bagger, sell on street
Dutraj Rana of Krishnapur Municipality-2 Bani reaches the banks of Banhara River in the morning. Where he has cultivated bagar. Reaching that garden, he picks vegetables such as watermelon, cucumber, bitter gourd and gourd. They put the same vegetables in sacks and reach near the Banhara Bridge on the East-West Highway. They sit under the roof that they built and sell the produce of that garden all day long.
"Three/four quintals are sold throughout the day," said Rana, "I sit on the roadside and sell them from morning to evening." He started selling products from the end of March. They are busy with this work till the end of May. Rana earns two/two and a half lakhs during this period.
Rana has also planted vegetables on his land near the river. After the production of the bugger is finished, the products planted in their own fields are ready. But they don't sell by sitting on the roadside like now. At that time, he takes it to the nearest market and sells it.
It takes a lot of effort and investment to produce vegetables in the garden. It is difficult to grow plants in the cold. That is why it should be covered with plastic. He says that it will cost a lot. At the moment, many stalls have been built on the side of the road to sell bagar products on both sides of the Banhara bridge.
Farmers are selling their produce sitting under the three towers. They are busy with this work even during the intense heat of Baisakh and June. "I have planted water melons and other vegetables in three bighas," said Nandlal Rana, who is a regular, "we have been in the garden for three/four months, at first we had to work hard to grow it, now we have to stay in the garden for fear of theft." He sits on the roadside and sells 5 quintals of vegetables daily.
More than 60 families have cultivated bagar on the banks of Banhara river. It is produced in large quantities from 5 kathas to three/four bighas. Some of them have also planted vegetables in fields where rice and wheat are produced along with bagar. Now those who went to India to sell products also return home.
Now watermelons, cucumbers and gourds are being sold at 50 rupees per kg and bitter gourds at 100 rupees per kg. Some of them carry it on their bicycles and go from village to village to sell it. They also sell it in exchange for nagarad and wheat.
'It is fun to sell what has been produced now, but it takes a lot of effort and investment to produce it,' said Pankaj Rana of Krishnapur-2, who is engaged in bugger farming, 'Now that it has been planted, it is ready to be sold, and it is produced in May.' This is how they run the house. He produces vegetables every twelve months. Now they have produced cucumber, bitter gourd, gourd, parsley etc.
There is a residence of the free Kamaiya family on the banks of the Banhara river. Currently, most of the three producers in Bagar are free-lancers. This has improved their financial status. Those who initially started farming for home consumption are now producing up to four/five quintals a day.
