J&K emerging as agricultural startup hub, says Minister Jitendra Singh
Jammu, January 28
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday said that Jammu and Kashmir is emerging as an agri startup hub. Addressing a ‘Kisan Sammelan’ at Kathua, he said the Republic Day tableau at Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26 depicting lavender farms of Bhaderwah is a testimony of the region being hailed as the birthplace of ‘Purple Revolution’, which is now being emulated in other Himalayan states like Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh as well as Nagaland.
He said the foundation of this agri startup hub has been laid in the picturesque Bhaderwah town of Doda district, where cultivation of lavender has been taken up on a large scale.
“Over 3000 flourishing lavender entrepreneurs from Bhaderwah have shown the youth of India a new and lucrative avenue of startup through agriculture, which is an exclusive domain of this country and will contribute value addition to India’s future economic growth by 2047,” he said.
The Union Minister urged the youth to join the agri start-up ecosystem so that they can contribute to making value addition to the economy.
Calling for action, the minister said the areas which are either unexplored or under-explored hold the potential of making value addition to the economy, adding that the role of Jammu and Kashmir-pioneered purple revolution will be of critical importance to make India a developed nation by 2047.
Talking about the measures taken for the safety and security of residents of border areas, especially Kathua, the Minister informed that bunkers have been constructed for them so that they can take shelter from firing from across the border. “Earlier, the residents were left to fend for themselves. They would take shelter either in their relatives’ places or in the panchayat ghar,” he stated.
