Kashmir-Kanyakumari rail link to boost floriculture sector: Abdullah

Kashmir: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has been looking towards the enhancement of the floriculture sector in the valley. He said recently that the rail link between Kanyakumari and Kashmir is to be completed next month; the connectivity will definitely boost the floriculture sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The CM said while chairing a meeting of the Department of Floriculture, Parks, and Gardens at the Civil Secretariat to review their functions.

Abdullah also discussed at length the strategies to enhance these sectors potential; he stressed the need to leverage the rail link to market Kashmir’s flowers across India and worldwide. Farmers of the valley grow different kinds of flowers, but they could not be sent to far-flung areas due to a lack of transportation, and they can’t keep them for a long period because flowers will perish.

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The chief minister highlighted the immense opportunities in the floriculture sector, especially with Kashmir soon to be connected with the rest of the country through the railways. “We must engage progressive growers and other stakeholders to fully realize the sector’s potential,” Omar said.

He directed the department to plant tulips along the airport road to enhance the aesthetic appeal and launch ad campaigns to attract more tourists to Srinagar’s iconic Tulip Garden. The Chief Minister has given a lot of stress to modernizing and mechanizing garden maintenance to increase the production of flowers in the valley, generating revenue as well as boosting farmers’ income.

Top officials attended the meeting, including Advisor to the CM Nasir Aslam Wani, ACS to CM Dheeraj Gupta, Commissioner Secretary Floriculture, Parks & Gardens, Sheikh Fayaz Ahmad, and Directors of Floriculture Kashmir/Jammu.