https://indianmasterminds.com

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Nainital DM’s Ambitious Apple Orchard Project Set to Attract Tourists

DM Dheeraj Gabriyalis changing the face of horticulture tourism in Nainital. More than 2500 apple nurseries have come up on previously barren land. Apple orchards to have café and cottages for tourists.
Indian Masterminds Stories

One apple a day keeps the doctor away. Indians have been sourcing their apple from either Himachal Pradesh or Kashmir. Now, the two states have a competitor – Uttarakhand, where Nainital district administration has of late, been promoting apple cultivation in a big way.

The fruit belt of Nainital district – the Ramgarh area – is renowned for its seasonal fruits, and apple is an addition to peaches and plums – the usual fruits grown here. They used to have apple orchards a long time ago but vagaries of weather took their toll on the crop. A large number of people quit farming altogether and started other businesses. As a result, horticulture tourism suffered.

But things are beginning to look upon with the initiatives of Nainital DM Mr. Dhiraj Singh Garbiyal, and horticulture tourism is all set to revive. Mr. Garbiyal, a 2009 batch IAS officer, has taken it upon himself to turnaround the dying horticulture industry and, with that view in sight, he has initiated hi-tech nurseries of apple on the barren lands of Ramgarh. He has made available to the nursery saplings of superior species imported directly from Europe. The farmers are happy as the same plants that they had to buy from Himachal at the rate of Rs. 500 per plant, are now available locally at Rs. 100 per plant.

Newly built Tourist cottage in Apple orchard (Credit: Social Media)

THE PLAN

In an exclusive interview to Indian Masterminds, Mr. Dhiraj Singh Garbiyal pointed out that making saplings available locally is not only cost effective but also cuts out the farmers’ dependence on other states.  “Unless you have the local horticulture department or any other government nursery giving you plants at cheaper rates, farmers have no other alternative but to buy the same from outside the state. Here, they were totally dependent on Himachal and Kashmir, that is why we took this initiative.” As part of the plan, machines were used on the barren lands to make them horticulture friendly. And once they were ready, the foundation stone of a modern farm was laid. Apple saplings from Holland have been planted in the nursery which will introduce improved varieties of apple to the area.

Mr. Dhiraj Singh Garbiyal, DM, Nainital (Credit: Social Media)

Implementation

The nursery is spread out over an 8-acre land and has around 2500 saplings of apple which also include famous varieties like Red Delicious, Granny Smith, Gail Gala, DeCarly, Honey crisp, etc. For irrigation purposes, a drip irrigation system and a 65000-litre tank have been installed. Trellis have also been built to support the plants.

High-tech Nursery in starting phase

Objective

The main objective of DM Garbiyal is to establish Nainital firmly in the horticulture tourism map. He believes that the linking of horticulture with tourism will benefit the residents, too. As per the state government’s horticulture tourism plan, visitors to the district are to be taken to the apple nursery, where eight cottages are to be setup for tourists to stay and enjoy life amidst apple orchards. A café and a training centre are also in pipeline.

It’s the beginning of a new era of horticultural tourism in Nainital. Blooming apple orchards will, no doubt, attract tourists by the droves, to come and spend some time in their midst.


Indian Masterminds Stories
Related Stories
NEWS
burglary_intruder
Odisha: Locals Are Flummoxed After Burglars Break Into IAS Prasanth Reddy's Official Abode In Bhubaneshwar
news_4thnov24
SAIL & ASCI Hyderabad Enter Into An MoU To Develop Customized Management Development Programs For SAIL Executives
image_news
Coal India Limited Celebrates Its 50th Foundation Day At Kolkata HQ, Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy & Coal Secy Vikram Dev Dutt Grace the Event
BEML-Limited
Bharat Earth Movers Limited Bags "Self Certification" Status
AnyConv
Maharashtra: DGP Rashmi Shukla Removed Ahead of Elections; Senior IPS Officer to Take Charge
Indian Railways
Indian Railways Set to Launch 'Super App' in December to Revolutionize Passenger Services
Andhra Pradesh govt
Andhra Pradesh: Govt Transfers Senior IAS Officers, G. Lakshmisha Made Collector, NTR District
government-of-haryana
Haryana: Major Administrative Reshuffle, 27 IAS Officers Transferred, CG Rajini Kaanthan Made Secy, Finance Dept
Videos
Sujoy Banerjee
How Sujoy Banerjee Rescued India’s Endangered Crocodiles in Chambal
Prakash Singn IPS
Mulayam Singh Introduced Casteism in Police Force
WhatsApp Image 2024-10-25 at 21.23
Why Only Soldiers? Can’t Politicians or Civilians Sacrifice Too?
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
burglary_intruder
Odisha: Locals Are Flummoxed After Burglars Break Into IAS Prasanth Reddy's Official Abode In Bhubaneshwar
news_4thnov24
SAIL & ASCI Hyderabad Enter Into An MoU To Develop Customized Management Development Programs For SAIL Executives
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Sujoy Banerjee
Prakash Singn IPS
WhatsApp Image 2024-10-25 at 21.23
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT