The Uttarakhand forest department research wing on Thursday dedicated a Himalayan spice garden, the first of its kind in the Himalayan state, to the local people.
Set up over four acres in in Ranikhet of Almora district, the spice garden was inaugurated by Shekhar Pathak, a noted historian and Padma Shree awardee.
Sanjiv Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forests and in charge of the state forest research wing said the spice garden has been established in an area of around 4 acres in Ranikhet, with funding from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), over a period of two years.
“The Spice Garden presently houses around more than 30 different spices out of which there are 8 spices from the Allium family (onion) of the Himalayan region. The Garden showcases major Himalayan Spices, ranging from Kesar of Kashmir, to the famed Tejpata (which was the first species of Uttarakhand to get a Geographical Indicator Tag), Timoor and Wild Heeng, found in Bhairoghati area of Uttarkashi district,” Chaturvedi said.
He said the main objective of establishing the spice garden was to popularise and create awareness about various spices of the Indian Himalayan region.
“These spices are highly nutrient, delicious and have been part of Himalayan cuisine, since time immemorial. However, due to various regions, these could not be showcased as much in other parts of the country. It will also enhance livelihood opportunities by linking the garden with Self Help Groups (SHG) of women,” he said.
“Apart from other spices, it has Kala Jeera (which grows in high altitude area only and is more spicy than the common variety), Jakhya (one of the most popular spices of Garhwal region, used for tempering Daal and vegetables), Gandrayani (pungent spice used as a flavouring agent in vegetable and daal), Badri Tulsi (Origanum vulgare), Lakhori Mirchi of Almora (having a very distinct yellow colour and unique to Almora, this chili is extremely hot and has antidiabetic, antibacterial properties and rich in vitamin C) and Jambu (Leaves used for seasoning and also as vegetable and in soup)”
The garden has an interpretation centre also, where information about these spices has been displayed, he added.
Last year in December, Uttarakhand’s first biodiversity gallery was set up in Kumaon’s Haldwani. The gallery which showcases “101 icons of Uttarakhand Biodiversity”, was also developed with funding from Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JAICA). In June last year, the forest department as part of its conservation initiative to protect Himalayan flora, had created a repository of 1576 plant species, including 73 threatened, rare and vulnerable species, aimed at their germplasm conservation, so that these species remain conserved in case they disappear from the wild due to any reason.
0 Comments