| 9 yrs on, Floriculture Deptt fails to identify land for Flower Mandi | | | G S Asgotra
Early Times Report
Jammu, June 21: Much awaited project of Floriculture Department to construct flower mandi in Jammu which was supposed to provide facilities to flower growers of adjoining Jammu area, is still in oblivion.
Source in department informed that the previous government of PDP-BJP had announced in 2007 to construct a flower mandi in Jammu district but after owing to non seriousness approach of the department concerned toward flower growers, the same has failed to see the daylight till date.
The source further said that however, just after the announcement the department had started to construct flower mandi in Greeen Belt Park but in the meantime the High Court of Jammu had stayed the construction and also ordered to dismantle it but after lapse of nine years, the same department has failed to identify another land for flower mandi in Jammu.
"Just after dismantling the half constructed building of flower mandi in Green Belt Park, Gandhi Nagar on the direction of High Court, the heads (concerned ministry) of the department asked to Directorate Jammu to identify land at another place but after lapse of nine years, the land has not been identified so far which exposing the tall claim of the department", said source.
It is pertinent to mention here that during the coalition government of PDP-BJP, the then Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad had created s separate Director Floriculture Office in Jammu and gave task to develop the ambitious project of Jammu- Tulip Garden, Bhour Camp and other project which will help the flower growers. "Unfortunately after lapse of many years from the announcement, the Directorate office, Jammu has neither developed the tulip garden of Jammu on the pattern of Kashmir' Tulip garden nor identified land for the flower mandi", source said. A flower cultivator of RS Pura, Parmodh Kumar said that for last many years, I had been cultivating different varieties of flowers as the department had suggested me but due to non availability of the marketing facilities, we are still dependent on temple to sell their produce.
He further said that when the announcement regarding establishment of Flower Mandi was made by government, it had given a ray of hope to flower growers but the announcement was merely an announcement.
Director of Floriculture department K K Sharma said that we were locating a suitable place for establishment of Mandi for the last many years but failed to achieve success. "There is acute paucity of land in city and even our own office is also running in a rented accommodation", he said. He further said we have tried their best to identify the suitable land for flower mandi and as we have successful to locate it, the construction of the same would be started. |
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