SHIVA project set to change lives of orchardists

The Himachal Pradesh Government’s SHIVA project is set to benefit orchardists in Badagao village, within the Darang Assembly constituency of Mandi district, by improving their economic conditions. The initiative seeks to engage unemployed youth and women in horticulture, providing them with high-quality plants and necessary materials for garden establishment, as well as irrigation facilities.

Orchardists will receive better varieties of guava, lemon, lychee and pomegranate. The Project Director, Dr Devender Thakur, and District Deputy Director Dr Sanjay Gupta performed a ceremonial planting of guava saplings in the village cluster. They inspected the progress of the project and addressed the gathered orchardists, emphasising the transformative potential of this initiative.

Dr Thakur said many unemployed youth leave agriculture for urban areas in search of livelihoods, but the project offers them opportunities at home, reducing the need to migrate. He highlighted that orchardists could expand their involvement in the project based on their interests, with the department committed to providing all necessary support.

To facilitate irrigation, the project will construct irrigation tanks and implement drip irrigation systems. Additionally, solar fencing will be installed to deter wild animals from damaging crops. Dr Gupta remarked that the dreams of local orchardists are now becoming a reality and assured them that the department would address any issues that arise.

Under the project, guava varieties — lalita, safeda and shweta — will be planted across approximately 22 hectares, with around 8,000 saplings being planted on eight hectares this season, benefiting nearly 50 orchardists. The event was attended by District Coordinator Dr Rajesh Sharma, SMS Rakesh Rana, Horticulture Extension Officer Kavita Sharma, local panchayat pradhan Panya Devi, former Jeep member Revat Singh, cluster head Mahender Singh Thakur and other dignitaries.