Two elderly persons in their rooftop kitchen garden and (below) a woman displays vegetable produced in such a garden. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 25: Grow greens in your own kitchen garden to ward off the oft-occurring vegetable crisis.

On the occasion of World Kitchen Garden Day today, experts and activists promoting kitchen gardens urged city residents to grow green fingers as an answer to rising veggie prices as well as to avoid consumption of vegetables and fruits loaded with pesticides.

City-based Kitchen Garden Foundation has also proposed to the Bhubaneswar Development Authority that they include a clause in the plan approval process to have kitchen gardens in every house in the city.

“Last year, we proposed to the development authority that every independent house or apartment be encouraged to have a small kitchen garden to grow fresh, organic vegetables. If this could be included in the plan approval mechanism, it would help people a lot, especially when prices of vegetables and fruits shoot up,” said Maheswar Khilar, managing trustee of the Kitchen Garden Foundation.

Since 2004, World Kitchen Garden Day is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of August to create awareness on the benefits of fresh food produced in kitchen gardens with the use of locally available organic resources.

Mayuree Borbora, a homemaker in Rasulgarh, shared her experience of producing leafy vegetables, green banana and betel leaf in her kitchen garden with others present for the celebrations today at the state quality control laboratory of the agriculture department. “We have started producing vegetables after seeing Khilar’s rooftop kitchen garden, which has become an inspiration of sorts in the city,” Borbora said.

Another event was organised by the Odisha Chasi Viaks Trust, Sarva Sahabhagi Abhiyan and Senior Agriculture Scientists’ Association of Odisha at the Odisha University of Agriculture Technology.

Agriculture minister Debi Prasad Mishra, who presided over the two events today, said the state government would take steps to allot land so that an organic resource centre could be developed to promote kitchen gardens across the city. The proposed centre would have live demonstrations to promote organic farming, organic manure production and quality seeds and seedlings.