Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Friday inaugurated Srinagar’s first Waste to Wonder Flower Garden and a Floriculture Mela at Floriculture Park, Polo View, saying the initiative demonstrates how discarded materials can be creatively reused and recycled.
The Chief Minister first inaugurated the Floriculture Mela and visited stalls showcasing ornamental plants, nurseries, terrariums, floral décor, cut flowers, event management services and products of J&K Agros. He interacted with flower growers, nursery owners and entrepreneurs from different districts of Kashmir and encouraged them to expand their ventures in the floriculture sector.
Officials said the mela provides a platform for growers and floriculture enthusiasts to showcase their products, exchange best practices and explore commercial opportunities.
Later, Omar inaugurated the Waste to Wonder Flower Garden and inspected a range of installations created from discarded and scrapped materials. The garden features a vintage Ambassador car, Kashmiri tonga, floral boat, scooter, heritage jeep, tractor, old tyres and other reclaimed objects transformed into decorative landscape features.
Describing the project as an innovative initiative of the Floriculture Department, the Chief Minister said it sends an important message about reuse and recycling.
“This is an effort by the Department of Floriculture to show people that almost anything can be reused if you have the thought and imagination to do so,” he said.
Pointing to the installations, he noted that objects such as tractors, scooters, old jeeps, Ambassador cars and even a refrigerator had been repurposed as garden attractions.
The Chief Minister said the initiative assumes significance at a time when solid waste and plastic waste management has become a major challenge in both urban and rural areas.
“Before throwing anything away, we should stop and think whether it can be reused or recycled. Of course, we cannot use every piece of waste as a decorative item, but wherever there is a possibility of recycling or reuse, we should make the effort,” he said.
He also urged people to reduce plastic waste by adopting simple practices such as carrying reusable shopping bags instead of using disposable plastic bags.
The garden has been developed on the principles of Reduce, Recycle and Reuse (RRR), with nearly 90 per cent of the material used in its construction sourced through recycling and refurbishment. Officials described it as a model of resource-efficient and sustainable landscaping.
Designed as an all-season attraction, the garden has been planned to remain in bloom from spring to late autumn through carefully scheduled plant selection and bloom succession.
Omar also spoke about plans to further develop the Chrysanthemum Garden, saying lessons from its first season would help improve the attraction in the coming years. Drawing a comparison with the Tulip Garden, he said it too had evolved gradually through the addition of new features over time.
He suggested that the Floriculture Department study similar Waste to Wonder projects in Chandigarh and explore possibilities of replicating and expanding the concept in Jammu and Kashmir.
“If we can recreate a similar Waste to Wonder concept here, it could become a great attraction for tourism,” he said.
Advisor to the Chief Minister Nasir Aslam Wani, MLA Bani Dr Rameshwar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister Dheeraj Gupta, Principal Secretary Culture Brij Mohan Sharma, Commissioner Secretary Floriculture Zubair Ahmad, Director Floriculture Kashmir Mathora Masoom and other officials were present on the occasion.
