Khunti, 22 July (Hindustan Times). It is said that if there is a desire to do something in the mind and hard work is done with dedication, then there is no such work which cannot be completed. Then whether it is women or men, success is assured and Aarti Devi, a resident of Lohagada village of Lodhama panchayat of Karra block of Khunti district, is proving it.
Till a few years ago, Aarti Devi, who was dependent on every single penny, has created a different identity in the whole area on the strength of her hard work and dedication. Today, not only in Karra block, but in other areas of the district, Aarti Devi has been recognized as Didi with flowers. Aarti Devi tells that she is not much educated. Neither the economic condition of the in-laws was good nor that of the maternal uncle. When she got married in a backward village like Lohagada in Lodhama, she was very worried about her future. The husband also did not have a very good income.
Well somehow the day passed and Aarti used to weave the fabric of doing some good work throughout the day. During the same time she came in contact with Lakshmi Mahila Mandal. There she got information about the women development schemes being run by the government. Before joining Mahila Mandal, Aarti used to work in the fields with her family. That’s why he had little knowledge about farming, but the family used to do traditional farming like paddy, maduwa, urad. There was no special income from this. Later, through the Mahila Mandal, she got information about farming in a scientific way and also took training for it. Seeing Aarti’s dedication and hard work, she was selected as Aajeevika Krishi Sakhi.
Aarti tells that her selection as Aajeevika Krishi Sakhi was the turning point of her life. From there his life started changing. Aarti Devi says that she was provided a green house by Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) through Abhisharan from Horticulture Department.
Along with this, Aarti also got a nursery of Gerbera flowers, which was grown by Didi with her hard work and today the four colored flowers in her greenhouse attract the attention of the people. The yellow, white, pink and red colored flowers of his nursery are very much liked by the villagers and traders. With a smile of self-respect, Aarti tells that she sells a flower for eight to ten rupees. He told that in the last two months he has sold more than 15 thousand flowers. She said that she is confident that in the coming days she will be able to sell flowers worth Rs 70 to 80 thousand.
Their flowers are in demand for decorations, weddings, parties and bouquets etc. He told that the customers of his flowers are not only the local villagers, but traders from Khunti, Ranchi, Bedo, Sisai and other places also buy flowers from his nursery. He told that seeing his success, not only his village Lohada, but also male and female farmers of other villages have been inspired to cultivate flowers. Aarti says that if you have the spirit to work hard and have some knowledge, then you can improve your financial condition by getting good income from gardening.
