People in Jammu & Kashmir Asked to Start Kitchen Gardening for Basic Essentials amid Lockdown

In order to deal with the problem of lack of essentials during emergency situation like the present lockdown, the Srinagar Municipal Corporation has asked people to grow fruits and vegetables in open spaces around their houses.

Locals of Srinagar city, which is densely populated, generally face difficulty in getting basic essentials such as vegetables & fruits because of curfew and long-lasting strikes. The city also faces difficulties when the Srinagar-Jammu highway, which is the only all-weather road connecting the valley to rest of the country, gets closed owing to snowfall and landslides.

A public notice issued by Ghulam Hassan Mir, SMC Joint Commissioner Planning said that to deal with the issue, it shall be compulsory for all citizens (in Srinagar), having detached or semi-detached plots, to use the open areas around their house for gardening or plantation of fruit trees as it is right time for vegetable farming as well as planting trees.

As per the notice, all the future proposals for building permission in Srinagar will include a plan for vegetable farming also. Those planning to apply for residential building permission in the city within the municipal limits shall support vegetable farming at individual household level & shall submit the proposal accordingly. The notice also suggested the architects & engineers who prepare municipal maps or drawings or plans on behalf of people to necessarily indicate vegetable garden & plantation of fruit trees as part of their proposal.

The SMC notice said that while all daily use items cannot be produced at home, taking to kitchen gardens & planting fruit trees can reduce unnecessary movement of residents outside their homes during Covid-19 pandemic as well as other situations that require staying home.

It is important to mention that the Department of Agriculture has been promoting kitchen garden activities since many years by providing high-quality seeds as well as saplings. It also offers kitchen garden tool kits at subsidised rates to persuade people to take up this activity that will ultimately reduce the dependency of the valley on fruits and vegetables from outside.