Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, June 2: Perturbed over the sale of fake saffron in the market which has given a setback to Saffron Industry of the state, its growers from Pampore are demanding enactment of a law banning the entry of Iranian Saffron in the state.
According to growers the National Saffron Mission will prove a failure and it can’t boost the Saffron Industry till the law is enacted to ban the entry of fake Saffron in the state.
They said with the introduction of Iranian Saffron and its sale in the market on the name of Kashmir Saffron the industry has received a jolt in the state and the much talked about National Saffron Mission will fail to yield results in case the proper steps are not taken to ban the entry of Iranian saffron and mixing the same with Kashmir saffron.
G M Pampori a representative of All J&K Saffron Growers Association an NGO said that during the buyer seller meet in 2010 at Konibal in Pampore, Prof Saif-ud-Din Soz president Pradesh Congress and Prof F A Nehvi of SKUAST assured the growers to establish Saffron Research Center in the area but two years have passed and no headway was made in this regard till date.
He said the Iranian Saffron has damaged the market of Kashmir Saffron though the latter has more flavor, more life span, is more stronger, more oil giving, has more moisture than the former.
Another threat the growers in the Saffron belt of Pampore are facing is rapid urbanization, said Murawath Hussian founder Fallah Behbood Committee, Pampore. He said with this the Saffron crop will extinct altogether from the area and it will become a history of past. The construction of both private and commercial buildings should be banned on this land to preserve this crop, he added.
He said despite the announcement made by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in December last year that no construction will be allowed on Safforn land the same still continues and the excavation of saffron land goes unnoticed.
He said besides growing world -class saffron, this area is the only patch in entire Kashmir, which remains green all over the year and adds to scenic beauty of Valley. For the passers by it is like Switzerland and one enjoys the scenic beauty of the area, he added.
The area can also be linked to adventure and pilgrimage tourism as it will be a winter spot for tourism as was already announced by former Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah.
Another problem the saffron growers are facing is mushrooming of cement plants and stone crushers in the area, which is slated to hamper production. This is also against the National Saffron Mission and Government should take remedial measures, said Hussian.
He said to boost the trade and attract more and more customers the Government should restore Pampore its status as first haltage point for Amarnath pilgrimage as has been a tradition. He demanded a Yatri Niwas be opened at Pampore and market road be named on Lal Ded who belonged to Pampore.
Hussian who was wary on mushrooming of organizations for promotion and sale of Saffron in the area said that they all came into being with political motivations. They take stalls at tourist places for their kith and kin to sell saffron while the genuine growers are ignored.
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