Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 24: Six-day Kashmir Lavender Festival and Art Camp was inaugurated today at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, here.
The festival which will conclude on June 29, 2014 is being organized for the first time in Jammu and Kashmir to showcase and highlight the indigenous rich biodiversity of medicinal and aromatic plants and will especially focus on the frontline aromatic crops like Lavender, Rose, and Rosemary etc. for which the institute has already developed end to end technologies and can prove an asset in employment and revenue generation in the State.
The event was jointly inaugurated by Dr. Jyotsna Singh, Director, Dara Shikoh Centre for Arts and Dr. Tej Pratap, K Vice Chancellor, SKUAST (Kashmir).
In her remarks, Dr. Jyotsna Singh appreciated the unique idea of bringing together Lavender festival and live painting demonstration by the eminent artists from J&K.
In his key note, Dr. Ramarkant Harlalka, CEO Shankubaba Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai, said that this festival will open new business avenues for the farmers and entrepreneurs and will have positive effect on the economy of the state. He informed the audience that the origin of Lavender festival is in France and now it is being celebrated in Australia, USA and UK. He further said that in Kashmir valley, in addition to Lavender festival in the month of July, festivals dedicated to Tulips, Rose and Saffron can also be organized, which will depict essence of J&K in the form of colours, smell and taste.
Dr. Tej Pratap in his presidential remarks said that this event will help developing Kashmir Lavender as an international brand. He further stated that the event would be of equal interest to the general public and students for getting a firsthand knowledge about these high value crops and the existing opportunities in this area.
Earlier, Dr. Ram Vishwakarma, Director CSIR-IIIM said that this event will help in bringing together entrepreneurs, farmers, general public, tourists, students and industrialists at a single platform.
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