World Bee Day celebrated at Raj Bhawan
By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 20 May: On World Bee Day, today, a special event was organised at the Raj Bhawan here. Beekeepers from various parts of Uttarakhand and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra of Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology set up a honey and bee product exhibition within the Raj Bhawan premises. Governor Lt General Gurmit Singh (Retd) attended the event, visited the exhibition, and interacted with beekeepers to understand their work. The Governor appreciated their efforts and encouraged them for their valuable contributions.
During the programme, the Governor honoured progressive beekeepers for their excellent work. The awardees included Hema Tiwari from Bageshwar; Bhavna Karki from Pithoragarh; Champa Devi from Almora; Rekha Chaudhary from Dehradun; Ujjwal Saini from Haridwar; and Shekhar Chandra Bhatt from Nainital.
In addition, university scientists were also felicitated, including Dr Ajit Singh Nain (Director, Research), Dr Jitendra Quatra (Director, Extension and Education), and Dr Pramod Mall (Joint Director, Bee Research & Training Centre). Addressing the gathering, the Governor said that Uttarakhand has been specially blessed by nature for beekeeping, which can help strengthen the state’s economy. He said that by promoting honey production, a revolution in the economic sector can be achieved—leading to increased income and self-employment opportunities for the local population.
The Governor emphasised that honey produced in Uttarakhand has unique medicinal properties. Efforts should be made to take this local honey from “Local to Global”. He added that the state has vast potential for honey production, which can be commercially developed to meet global demand.
The Governor lauded the “One University, One Research” initiative of GB Pant University, which revealed through research that Uttarakhand’s current honey production capacity can be multiplied several times. He noted that the university has established a Bee Research & Training Centre over 92 acres of land in its main campus, serving as a model for other universities across the country. Furthermore, the university has signed an MoU with Slovenia, one of the world’s leading honey-producing countries.
University Vice-Chancellor Dr Manmohan Singh Chauhan shared that under the Governor’s guidance, World Bee Day was celebrated for the first time at Raj Bhawan. He informed that under the “One University, One Research” initiative, 750 farmers have already been trained in beekeeping. These trained farmers will in turn train groups of 100 farmers each, helping to expand the sector significantly. He also emphasised that beekeeping is not limited to honey production but plays a key role in increasing agricultural productivity through pollination.
Dr Ajit Singh Nain, Director of Research, provided detailed insights into the programme. Also present at the event were Prof Omkar Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Uttarakhand Technical University; Dr Jitendra Quatra, Director of Extension; various district-level beekeepers; scientists from GB Pant University; and students from multiple universities.
