Jahangeer Ganaie
Anantnag, Oct 30: A man hailing from South Kashmir’s Anantnag district continues to make waves with his innovative environmental efforts.
Advocate Farooq Ahmad Ganai, a resident of far-flung village of Sadiwara Dooru in Anantnag district had initially got the recognition for his “Give Plastic, Take Gold” initiative, has now cultivated saffron by using household waste.
Speaking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Ganai said that in his lawn, he made a few layers of the household waste as a growth medium for saffron cultivation.
“I contacted one of my clients from Awantipora area, who provided me with some dozens of saffron corns that I sowed after preparing the part of my lawn with the help of waste with a mixture of soil,” he said.
He said that around 20 days after sowing the corn, the saffron flowers bloomed and they plucked flowers several times already.
Ganie said the aim behind the move is to spread a message that nothing is waste if it is properly used and he is planning to increase the saffron production in the coming time.
The Lawyer by profession said that he will make his home a learning center for all and will invite MLAs and Ministers besides officials of various departments and show them how magic of domestic waste works and conduct awareness programmes in schools and colleges.
“I believe that there won’t be unemployment in J&K if people of J&K will work hard on their land and try different things that are pro-environment,” he said.
Earlier, Ganai had taken the ‘Give Plastic, Take Gold’ initiative,” in which gold coins were being awarded to those who collected substantial quantities of waste, highlighted the importance of personal accountability in environmental conservation and saw substantial local participation.
For this initiative, he was named “Garbage Man of Kashmir,” and he received appreciation at many mega platforms.
Through these efforts, Ganai continues to pioneer solutions that merge environmental stewardship with community well-being, earning widespread admiration at country level.
Today, Chief Agriculture Officer Ajaz Ahmad Dar visited Sadiwara and acknowledged the initiative of Advocate Farooq Ahmad Ganai.
The CAO said the green thumb initiative of Faröoq Ahmad Ganai is an inspiration for all.
Dar who was accompanied by Zone level officers of Dooru Agriculture Zone and Verinag Agriculture Zoon was surprised to see various varieties of vegetables cultivated in organic manner by using compost made up of Domestic Waste.
He said such initiatives will definitely help in carrying forward the Holistic Development programme.
Adv Farooq Ganai gave live demo to the Chief Agriculture Officer and assured full support—(KNO)
