Handwara, June 18: The much anticipated Biotech Park at Baripora in north Kashmir’s Handwara continues to await completion years after construction began, leaving lavender growers and local residents disappointed over the prolonged delay.
The project was conceived as a major initiative to promote lavender cultivation, support value addition, and create employment opportunities for local youth. Farmers were encouraged to cultivate lavender on a large scale with the expectation that the facility would provide processing, marketing, and research support for their produce.
However, despite the passage of several years, the biotech park remains incomplete. Locals said construction activity had started with much enthusiasm before 2019 but gradually slowed down and eventually came to a standstill.
The delay has frustrated lavender growers who had pinned high hopes on the project. “We cultivated lavender believing that the biotech park would become operational and help us secure better returns. Unfortunately, it has remained incomplete for years,” said a local farmer.
Tauseef Ahmad War, a resident of Baripora, said people are unable to understand why the work has stopped. “If this is a centrally sponsored project, it should have been completed long ago. We urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to intervene and ensure that the concerned department completes the project without further delay,” he said.
Advocate G.N. Bukhari said the objective behind encouraging lavender cultivation would only be fulfilled once the park becomes functional. “If this project is completed, the purpose of planting lavender will be achieved. Otherwise, lavender cultivation is merely keeping the land occupied without delivering the expected benefits,” he said.
Residents have urged the government to expedite the work and make the facility operational at the earliest. They said public funds and valuable land should not go to waste because of prolonged delays.
The government recently informed the J&K Legislative Assembly that the biotech park is being established at a cost of Rs 42.66 crore. The project is being implemented by the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu, and construction work is stated to be nearly 75 percent complete.
