THE HILLS ARE COMING ALIVE

Deserted villages of Uttarakhand are springing back to life as residents return to the hills after decades. The state government has announced several schemes to retain them, but has it reached people?

- RAJU SAJWAN PAURI-GARHWAL

VIKAS RAWAT, 38, is content plucking vegetables from his farm in Kathur village, about 15 km from Pauri town in Uttarakhand. He will sell the vegetables in nearby villages after keeping some for his family. Till six months ago, Rawat, who had a flourishing ‘hotel’ (dhaba) business outside an engineering college at Ghurdauri near Pauri, had not even dreamt of taking up farming. In March, when the government announced a nationwide lockdown to stop the spread of covid-19, he feared his business would collapse. So he called up many of his childhood friends from Kathur who had migrated to other cities for livelihood. Rawat proposed that cultivation could be the solution to the looming crisis. The friends agreed and decided to return home and rejuvenate their farms lying unused. By April, Rawat and his friends were together growing beans, tomatoes, cabbage, capsicum and brinjal in 0.4 ha. They have also planted pulses and paddy.

All of them are confident to earn as much as they did in the city. Rawat has already sold 3 quintals of beans at ̀ 40 per kg. Tomatoes, cabbage and capsicum are ripening now. He hopes to fetch a good price for these too. The input cost is also quite low as they use cow dung bought from neighbours as manure, not urea.

RETURN TO THE HILLS FOR GREENER PASTURES