Aesthetic Local Train Journeys Will Be A Reality In Mumbai As Railways Replace Vegetable Farms With Flowering Plants

by Vaishalee Kalvankar
Aesthetic Local Train Journeys Will Be A Reality In Mumbai As Railways Replace Vegetable Farms With Flowering Plants

While travelling by local trains, you must have noticed farming of vegetables on the empty land patches along the railway tracks. Well,you won’t be able to see it soon. The reason is that the Central Railway(CR) is planning to do away with the system of growing vegetables on these empty land patches. These patches with vegetables will be replaced by flowering shrubs and ornamental plants soon making the local journey an aesthetic one. 

Once A Novelty, Also Attracted Criticism

The farming of vegetables along the tracks was once considered to be a novelty but recently faced a lot of criticism. When it was discovered that in many places irrigation was provided by drainage water flowing nearby, the idea of growing vegetables along the tracks became controversial in one of India’s most crowded urban conglomerates. According to officials, replacing the vegetable farms with flower beds will enhance the railway route. Approximately 150 acres of land in 115 locations in Mumbai will be turned into flower beds to beautify the railway route. For decades these patches of land were used to cultivate okra, spinach, fenugreek, etc. under the ‘Grow More Food’ scheme in order to save these lands from encroachment. 

Pic Credits: Indiatimes.com

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Flower Beds Will Make The Train Journey More Pleasant

The railway officials said that the train journey will be more pleasant for the passengers if the vegetable farming is replaced by flower beds and the problem of vegetables grown using drainage water will too come to an end. Central Railways’ chief public relations officer, Shivaji Sutar said that they will not renew the existing licence issued for cultivation of vegetables on the railway lands. Instead of this the land will be cultivated with medicinal herbs, flowers and ornamental plants. This move will not only help in the beautification of the area around the stations but also will discourage the people from throwing garbage on the tracks and the surrounding area. 

Pic Credits: Peakpx

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