As most of the capital city’s people are staying at home to comply with the social distancing rule, tens of thousands of lotus flowers in the fields of Dung Cam Village, Trung Tu Commune, Ung Hoa District, Hanoi are in danger of being left to rot due to the lack of workforce.

Policemen of Ung Hoa District have volunteered to help farmers harvest, transport, and sell these local specialties.

These splendid lotus ponds are in the harvest season while Hanoi people are strictly complying with social distancing order issued by the chairman of municipal People’s Committee.

Chu Tien My, head of a lotus farming household in Ung Hoa District, said that he grows about two acres of lotus flowers. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, lotus picking and selling have been delayed for over one month.

The delay in harvesting and selling lotus has caused a loss of hundreds of millions of dong for this lotus farmer.

In order to ease the difficulty, policemen of Ung Hoa District police are helping farmers to harvest the flowers, shape the petals, pack in bundles, then take them to the markets.

According to Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Phuong Thao (Ung Hoa District Police), there are more than 20 hectares of lotus flowers and lotus seeds left unharvested in the locality. The Ung Hoa District Police has coordinated with the Trung Tu Commune’s Youth Union to launch the program entitled "Join hands to support the consumption of lotus and fresh lotus seeds" among locals.

Police officers started to harvest lotus at 4.30 am every day.

The lotus picking lasts until mid-morning.

The Quan Am Lotus species grown in Ung Hoa District is famous for its beauty and fragrance.

The policemen perform the process of folding lotus petals by the lotus ponds. These lotus bouquets are then carefully wrapped in lotus leaves and taken to the markets.

Thanks to the kind support of customers and Ung Hoa District’s police officers, lotus farmers expected to sell more than 10,000 lotus flowers per day.

Three days after the support was launch, lotus flowers and lotus seeds in Dung Cam Village, Trung Tu Commune, Ung Hoa District are all sold.