An educated youth with vision

Rafiqul Islam Titu (extreme right) explaining to Mineral Resources Minister A K M Mosharraf Hossain the prospect of orchid export and commercial cultivation of high yielding fruits. PHOTO: STAR

Besides flower, orchid and ornamental plants, his collections include rare medicinal plants White Chandan, Rahu Chandan, Turi Chasdal, Naglingam and fruit plants like Thai Jamrul, Avocado (a foreign fruit) and Vim Bhutan.

Tree lovers from different areas of the district come to his nursery in the town also to collect saplings of high yielding and good varieties of mango and other seasonal Bangladesh fruits.

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Starting as a hobby, Titu now earns a profit of about Tk three lakh a year and employs ten people.

Any body talking to his educated young man would become interested in tree plantation.

"Planting a sapling is better than opening an insurance or a bank account for the family because it needs no investment", he said while talking to this correspondent at his stall at the annual tree fair on the Town Hall premises on Sunday last.

He has a clear vision also. "Fruit output in our country can be multiplied within a few years opening up good export potential if commercial orchards are developed by replacing traditional fruit trees with high yielding ones", he said. "Government should come forward to patronise the sector with unlimited prospects".

The variety of orchids and other plants drew State Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources AKM Mosharraf Hossain, Deputy Commissioner Shal Alam Bakshi and Divisional Forest Officer Mian Abdul Latif and other high officials to his stall. They were all praise for his efforts.

His hard labour and constructive ideas have also earned him fame and honour. He got the Best Nursery Award in the district last year.

Titu, a resident of Sankipara area of the district town, had

First started by collecting saplings from local nurseries and started those on the courtyard and on the roof of his house, said Titu.

When he found that there was a bright future of nursery business in local markets as well as in the country, he started his nursery programme on 10 decimal land at his residence.

"After selling the first batch of plants, I did not get a handsome profit but it encouraged me", Titu said.

His Ever Green Nursery now covers about one acre of land.

Two years back, Titu leased a plot of land from the district council and opened a display centre on a land adjacent to the Town Hall premises.

"Now I earn about Tk three lakh a year after meeting all expenses including a staff salary of over Tk 15,000 a month", he said.

Father of a girl child, Titu said his wife Syeda Salma Akhter, also a Graduate is also playing an unimportant role in heir business. She also looks after the nursery".

He hopes to earn the award this year also. The tree fair opened on September 18 and it will close tomorrow.

Titu, along with other nursery owners in the town has formed an association, which assists tree planters.

Titu is also a member of Bangladesh Plant Nurserymen Society (BPNS), a central body of the nurserymen.

He also rents flower tubs for different occasions at the rate of Tk 10 for per tub per day.