Flowers without the festive rush
In most years, the days before Pohela Falgun and Valentine’s Day turn Shahbagh into a vibrant carnival of colour -- stalls bursting with blossoms, air thick with fragrance, and buyers flowing through the lanes. This year, that familiar spectacle is missing. Traders say the election has dulled footfall ahead of the spring celebrations, while disruptions linked to the polls have tightened supply -- pushing flower prices sharply higher.