Indore (Madhya Pradesh): With Holi falling in the first week of March this year, delayed blooming of palash flowers has led to a sharp decline in herbal gulal production in the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department’s Choral Range.
The department usually produces between 20 and 25 kilograms of natural colour annually. However, this year production has been restricted to 1,000 packets due to the limited availability of properly dried palash flowers.
A sales stall will open from Monday at the Indore Forest Division office in Navratna Bagh, where the herbal colours will be available to the public. Officials said the sale will continue until Rang Panchami.
Compared to previous years, output is significantly lower this time. Officials attributed the decline to an extended winter, changing weather conditions and Holi falling early in March. As a result, palash flowers have only recently begun to bloom.
Collection of flowers from forest areas began on Feb 26 with the assistance of local villagers. The flowers were dried over three days and are being processed in Choral.
Range Officer Sachin Verma said only 1,000 packets will be prepared this year as the flowers did not dry adequately, making grinding and processing difficult.
Divisional Forest Officer Lal Sudhakar Singh confirmed that the sale will begin on Monday at the Navratna Bagh stall.
Production decline over the years
2016: The Forest Department began producing herbal colours and prepared 5,000 packets in three colours in the first year.
2017-2019: Around 10,000 packets were produced annually.
2021-2022: Between 10 and 15 kilograms of colour packets were sold.
2023-2025: Palash flowers were collected from forests in Indore, Mhow, Manpur and Choral, and nearly 20,000 packets were sold during this period.
2026: Production has been reduced to 1,000 packets.
Officials have urged residents to support eco-friendly celebrations by purchasing herbal colours made from
