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Santhosh Chandran
Doha
WITH the winter season in full bloom, roads in Qatar are on a beautification drive. So, the pavements are once again full of colourful flowers and greenery brimming with life and beauty.
The new roads with lush green pathways adorned with colourful flowers and well-pruned trees offer commuters a soothing sight. The renovated E-Ring Road and the newly built F-Ring and G-Ring road undergoing beautification drive are a visual treat to the road users.
In addition, the country's artery, namely the C and D Ring roads, have also got back their green patches interspesed with the yellow, red, pink and violet flowers in full bloom.
With so many new roads, lanes and by-lanes having opened to traffic in recent times and many new ones to open this year, Doha-based floriculturists hope to have a roaring boost in businesses.
Talking to Qatar Tribune recently, an official of Floranza International Nursery in Doha said,"The new roads, highways and public parks should have more winter flowers, the demand for which seems to have gone up by 20 to 30 percent this year compared to the previous years."
"With the kind of rapid pace at which new roads and parks are opening, we hope to have our business grow 100 percent by next winter," he added.
It is noteworthy that the Public Works Authority (Ashghal)is expected to complete most of its road projects in and around Doha this year.
After Saudi Arabia stopped export of winter flowers, the local floriculturists expanded their farms in northern part of Qatar with the support of the Department of Agriculture in the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.
The new residential areas coming up with road and infrastructural works currently underway are also expected to benefit floriculture immensely in the near future and contribute to the country's beautification efforts. Several varieties of Petunia and Marigold grown in Doha's nurseries are in high demand in the local market. Cactus and ornamental flower plants are also preferred by many residents.
