DOHA: As planting season in Qatar has begun with the fall of mercury, many residents are relying on the multi-service app launched by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment last year, for buying plants online at low prices.
With winter approaching, sales at different plant outlets and nurseries have also surged. The “Baladiya app” is offering a convenient purchase option to flora lovers.
The user has to simply download the app available both on Apple and Android devices and click the category “Services” to reach sub-category “plant nurseries”.
It takes a few minutes, after signing in by entering the Qatari ID and mobile number, to place an order for the plants as the interested customer selects from a long catalogue of plants enlisted with names, pictures and prices.
Once a buyer has selected the plants in the basket and places the order, he gets an SMS on his cell phone asking him to collect the selected plants within 72 hours from the Department of Public Parks at the Ministry.
If the customer does not turn up to purchase the plant, the order is cancelled.
Along with “plant nurseries”, other services available on the app include “remove sewage”, “pest control”, “cut trees”, “abandoned car”, “worker’s housing”, “remove rain water” and “unclog drainage”.
There exists a long list of flower plants and fruit trees making it easy for potential buyers to satisfy their personal choices. The plants available on the app include jatropha, ocinum, jasminum sambac, jasminum grandi flora, setcreasea, hibiscus, bauhinia alba, ficus carica, washingtonia filifera, morus alba, nerium oleander, plumeria acutifolia, tecoma stan, punica granatum, lowsania, bougainvillea glabra, ruellia, canna indica, gazania rigens and many others.
Apart from the easy purchase mode, prices of plants too are attracting residents. A flower plant is being sold at QR2 while the price of a fruit sapling is QR5.
“It is a good service through which one can buy his favourite plants without any procrastination. Otherwise, people would continue making plans to visit a plant nursery to buy seeds, saplings which they actually do not execute due to their laxity,” said Anwar Hossain, a Bangladeshi expatriate. With the change in weather, other plant nurseries are also experiencing rush of customers with the majority interested in buying flower plants and vegetable seeds. Traders say this trend will further escalate in the days to come. They say the planting season in Qatar would continue until March. Also, a plantation drive is under way in green areas and parks in Doha.
Chandramohan, another resident who recently utilised the Baladiya app said he was satisfied with the service and in particular with the prices .
He felt that the sales of plants might grow many times if there is a home delivery service. He said after using the service, he told a number of friends about it. “If the Department of Public Parks starts selling plant pots along with the plants, it will be more convenient for the customers,” he said.
