Advisor (K) declares open Forest Flower Festival at Jammu University

Jammu: Advisor to Governor, K Vijay Kumar has said the ancient wisdom and knowledge of medical practices can be used as a complement to modern medicine and collective efforts need to be undertaken to carry out research for developing medicinal plants and taking out benefits from them.
The Advisor said this after inaugurating the Forest Flower Festival at Botanical Garden at Jammu University. The event was organized by the State Forest Research Institute J&K in collaboration with Department of Botany, University of Jammu.
DGP Dilbag Singh, Vice Chancellor University of Jammu Prof. Manoj Dhar, PCCF Suresh Chugh, Director SFRI O P Sharma, Director Soil & Water Conservation P K Singh, Director IIIM Jammu Dr. Ram Vishwakarma, Director Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing B Siddhartha Kumar, Former PCCF A K Singh and S D Swatantra, SSP Jammu Tejinder Singh, HoD Department of Botany JU Dr. Namrata Sharma, other senior officers from Forest, its allied wings, faculty from JU and students from JU and various government colleges were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Advisor complimented Director SFRI and his team for organizing the Forest Flower Festival, which is based on the theme, ‘Floral Biodiversity Conservation & Innovations’. He said these kinds of event are helpful in raising awareness among people especially the students regarding conservation of biodiversity, feel of floral diversity etc. This festival can also give an opportunity to all to know about the rare and common species of flowers and wild plants, he added.
He said Forest department, Jammu University and other stakeholders should bond into a single team and complement each other’s efforts with regard to their contribution in conservation of biodiversity.
DGP J&K Dilbag Singh also spoke on the occasion and thanked SFRI and other organizers for giving them opportunity to know more about the unique species of flowers and wild plants. This kind of events really adds to your knowledge about the flora and different habitats around you, he added.
Director SFRI, O P Sharma while giving out the details of the festival said this event has brought many teams together working in the same field. He said they have tried to choose the flowers for their elegance and fragrance, color and for their wild occurrence over most parts of the state and these wild flowers have been displayed with their common names which are easy to remember than the botanical names.
Earlier, the Advisor K Vijay Kumar and DGP Dilbag Singh planted saplings of Rhododendron, notable for their attractive flowers and handsome foliage.
The Advisor along with other dignitaries also visited the stalls being setup by the various participant teams including Forest department, SFRI, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Floriculture, Department of Ayurveda, Department of Botany JU, SKUAST-J, Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing and Government Degree College Udhampur.
The in-charge of the stalls briefed the Advisor and others about the flowers, plants and other products being displayed by them in the festival.
The Advisor also felicitated the students who have participated in various competitions during the Forest Flower Festival and distributed certificated to them.