https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Kitchen Gardens in Police Stations

Police stations in Uttar Pradesh are planting kitchen gardens in their premises to provide healthy nutrition to its personnel. This unique drive has been launched by the IPS officer Aravind Chaturvedi.
Indian Masterminds Stories

The 2011-batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IPS officer Mr. Aravind Chaturvedi is a people-friendly police officer who uses his soft tone and heartwarming gestures to make his place into people’s hearts. He is also an avid lover of nature and wildlife.


We have already read how he has saved thousands of turtles to date and is still continuing to do so, in his previous story – `Making Humans Live Better and Wildlife Safer’. This time, as he explained in an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, he is promoting organic plantation in police stations across the Barabanki district.

IPS officer, Mr. Aravind Chaturvedi

‘MISSION POSHAN VATIKA’

Previously posted as Superintendent of Police in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Chaturvedi came up with the initiative called ‘Mission Poshan Vatika’ (Garden of Nutrition) under which he successfully planted numerous kitchen plants in the front yards of police stations. Doing so, he hit two birds with the same stone: utilizing the free space, otherwise filled with trash, and at the same time bringing organic and fresh nutrition on police personnel’s plates.

“The area in front of the police stations was usually covered with trash and dump, so I decided to get it cleared and instead utilize that area for something good,” said Mr. Chaturvedi.

Consultants were involved in the kitchen garden plantation

He acquired the idea from the Department of Secondary Education, which had launched a scheme wherein they were establishing ‘poshan vatikas’ in government schools across Uttar Pradesh with the involvement of students and faculties. The scheme was initiated by the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and is now being implemented in Anganwadis and senior schools.

“I planned the plantations in police stations in a way that the structure looks like rays coming out of the sun and each ‘ray’ is planted with different kinds of vegetables, mostly green. We have methi, palak, soya, ginger, coriander, pudina, etc.” Mr. Chaturvedi told Indian Masterminds.

The garden is in the formation of a sun’s rays

The vegetables from the kitchen garden are used in the police mess and in mid-day meals so that the kids and police personnel could get adequate nutrition from their own place. “On average, 35-40 people eat in the police mess every day, and through this not only will they get healthy food but the mess bill will also reduce by a certain percentage. Per diet cost of one person is about 30-40 rupees, which gets reduced to 20-30 Rs with our own vegetables. The entire garden is planted in an organic way by agriculture experts,” he explained.

GENERATING LIVELIHOOD

Currently posted as SP, Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Chaturvedi realized that about 200 families from a backward village called Pakri are massively involved in the illegal trading of turtles and have established contacts in Bangladesh, where they smuggle the reptiles.

Mr. Chaturvedi protecting turtles that were being smuggled

Mr. Chaturvedi organized a Choupal in the village and sensitized the people to engage in alternate livelihoods rather than harming wildlife. Within three weeks, he established women self-help groups to help them in earning livelihood through which they earned 15,000 quarterly.

“We collaborated with NGOs and involved some locals into rice mills and trained them into making paper envelopes and sweet boxes through which they have started earning now. These steps have really made the residents enthusiastic and the ones who were quite violent and rowdy till a few months back, have changed and are looking for work. We have also put 15 people into Nagar Nigam Palika where they will clean drainages and earn 309/- per day” Mr. Chaturvedi told Indian Masterminds.

The officer sensitizing people through choupals

ALWAYS A HELPING HAND

Even after becoming a successful officer, Mr. Chaturvedi has not let go of his humble and generous nature. He looks forward to helping anyone he can even if it’s from his own resources. When a disabled person on a walker reached out to him and expressed his will to work, Mr. Chaturvedi immediately transferred 15,000 rupees to him so he could open his own grocery store, which was shut down as he had met with an unfortunate accident. He also provided the man with and an additional 1000 rupees for the repairs needed in the shop.

He is always there to help anyone in need

“We invited the oldest women of the village to inaugurate his store. Little efforts on my behalf form a kind of trust in these people’s hearts and in return, they listen to what we have to say, rather than doing their own illegal work” stated Mr. Chaturvedi.


Indian Masterminds Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Western Coalfields Limited
WCL Strengthens Healthcare Services in Vidarbha with Medical Equipment Donation to Dr Hedgewar Blood Centre
BPCL_resized
BPCL Partners with GPS Renewables to Set Up Compressed Biogas Plants Nationwide
Udupi Cochin Shipyard Limited (UCSL)
UCSL Delivers First Green Cargo Vessel ‘Wilson Eco 1’ to Norway, Marking Major Export Milestone for India
IAS Manoj Ahuja
Odisha: Chief Secretary Mandates Field Visits for Govt Officials to Strengthen Governance
NSE National Stock Exchange
Who Is Former IAS Neeraj Kumar Gupta, the Newly Appointed Chairman & Public Interest Director of NSE International Exchange?
Hindustan Shipyard Limited HSL
Hindustan Shipyard Launches Skilling Programme for 2,000 Contract Workmen under Skill India Mission
BEL Bharat Electronics Limited
Lt. Gen Vishwambhar Singh Appointed as Independent Director on BEL Board - Know About Him
NBCC
NBCC Appoints Dr Deepak Singh & Prof. B.P. Bhosale as Independent Directors - Know About Them
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Lokesh M IAS
E-Rickshaw Chaos, Waterlogging, Traffic Mess — Can Noida Fix Its Daily Chaos? | Exclusive with Dr Lokesh M, IAS
IRS Padmapani Bora UPSC
IRS Padmapani Bora’s 16-Year-Long Journey in Governance
WhatsApp Image 2025-04-13 at 1.46
This Collector Finds Happiness In Squeaks Of Children With Hearing Impairment Who Start Hearing After Surgery
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
WhatsApp Image 2025-04-23 at 21.26
“You May Fail Twice, But If You Stand Tall the Third Time, You Fly” – Trilok Singh, CSE ’24 AIR 20 | Exclusive
Rejected by the military, Trilok Singh didn’t quit, he reloaded. In CSE 2024, the Rajasthan native stormed...
WhatsApp Image 2025-04-23 at 17.08
Two Births in Two Weeks: How Malavika G Nair Delivered Her Baby And Her UPSC Dreams
Just 14 days after giving birth, Malavika G Nair cradled her newborn in one arm and a UPSC answer sheet...
Komal Punia UPSC 2024 AIR 6
Komal Punia: The IPS Officer Who Pursued Her IAS Dream & Conquered UPSC With AIR 6 | Exclusive
Komal Punia, a trainee IPS officer from Saharanpur, UP, overcame challenges and self-doubt to secure...
Social Media
GozJlgrXYAAHoKv
Murals for Cleanliness: Thoothukudi District Launches Art-Inspired Sanitation Drive in Panchayats
Local artists add colour and messages to village walls, promoting hygiene and community pride
Himanshu Nagpal IAS
Varanasi's Beggar Rehabilitation Initiative Recognised by UIDAI, CDO Himanshu Nagpal Shares the News
Mr. Himanshu Nagpal is a 2019-batch IAS officer
IAS Vaishali Chopra
Young IAS Vaishali Chopra Takes a Stand Against Caste Bias During Field Training in Uttar Pradesh
While the issue itself may seem small, the post is resonating widely online for its honest reflection...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Western Coalfields Limited
WCL Strengthens Healthcare Services in Vidarbha with Medical Equipment Donation to Dr Hedgewar Blood Centre
BPCL_resized
BPCL Partners with GPS Renewables to Set Up Compressed Biogas Plants Nationwide
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Lokesh M IAS
IRS Padmapani Bora UPSC
WhatsApp Image 2025-04-13 at 1.46
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT