Kashmir home to over 1,100 medicinal, aromatic plant species: VC SKUAST-K

Srinagar, Feb 6: The Vice Chancellor Sher-e-Kashmir University Of Agricultural Sciences & Technology. Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai Friday said that the Kashmir was home to over 1,100 medicinal and aromatic plant species, many of which were yet to be fully harnessed for economic and health benefits.

Addressing the media persons regarding the upcoming three-day Gungul festival being held at SKUAST-K from February 14 of 2026, VC SKUAST-K said that we are in the north-western Himalayan zone but we have not been able to harness these aromatic and medical plant species in a coordinated manner.

“There is a lot of uncontrolled extraction from our jungles and the focus of the government is to explore this issue. But, this University has already started a lot of work on it,” he said.

He said SKUAST-Kashmir has established two big medicinal and herbal nurseries one each at Wadoora College and at the Faculty of Forestry, Benihama.

“We have conserved about 60 commercial herbal plants there. And we are also multiplying the plant material there besides distributing the plant material among the groups of our farmers at cluster level so that we can produce a biomass of a particular herb on a mass scale,” VC SKUAST said.

He said SKUAST has also established a centre of excellence on herbal plants at the university which he said was the most advanced centre.

“Though we try to use the herbal plants for health benefits but we do not know what happens when we eat these herbs and the active principles that we should exploit,” VC SKUAST said.

He said the advanced facility that we have established at the centre of excellence under HADP is also a connecting dot to it.

“The focus of the government is on our forest areas while there are some forest regulations as well but we will talk to the government about the forest regulators and how we can relax it,” he said.

He said that the SKUAST will try to promote it and explore the options how it will benefit our communities in our forest areas.

About the decision to make Gongul festival a three day activity, VC SKUAST-K said that earlier, this fair was for two days.

“Last time, we had this fair for only two days. But in those two days, we saw a huge rush and all the people started demanding that we should extend this till the third day and then we extended it for three days,” he said.

He said that earlier there used to be only 100-150 stalls set up for the festival and more than half of them were university stalls.

“But today, we have received bookings of 350 stalls and most of the stalls belong to the people outside the University,” he said.

He said Gungul festival remains one of the biggest fair in Jammu and Kashmir which showcases technology and trade.

“All the people who come here to participate in this fair, they also have a trade here. Some of them sell here, and some of them book their orders as well,” he said.