Shah Maqbool: The Green Hero

Shah Maqbool Hussian Ibni Ali, the proprietor of SADA BAHAAR NURSERIES, a local plant grower and environment conservationist is no more. The man with a mission to make his land Sada bahaar, ever green, had to surrender before his fate at his ancestral home of Parigam Kulgam. Born in fifties, he since his childhood has been a nature lover. In his growing age he first emerged as a young writer and novelist with his theme of love with nature. Although he wrote few novels, Yateemu ki dunya and Sukha Payd were his favorite stories which he used to share with his friends. Unfortunately none of his novels could be published. But what he wrote and observed he vowed to give it a practical shape.

He got involved in plant growing and set up his own nurseries on his ancestral lands. This initiative first looked unsound to his native people, as it was the age when there was no such concept of creating advanced plant nurseries and people of the region had been still involved in planting local traditional plants. But gradually his initiative picked up and people around him could understand the importance of green nurseries. He created wonderful varieties of different kinds of fruit and non fruit plants in his nurseries and established his first unit under the banner of Sada Bahaar Nursercies Parigam (P) Limited.

The variety of plants grown in his nurseries played an important role in the preservation of the local environment. He provided high density fruit plants, hybrid vegetables seeds, and turf medical and ornamental foliage plants.

The local residents planted number of his plants in their orchards and in their home yards. This process helped locally to increase the areas of green trees and reduce desertification. Gradually, he used to supply his plants to the people in the towns and cities. He encouraged people to plant trees on their vacant land and for this purpose he produced variety of nurseries. He could understand that a large number of people wanted to plant fruit trees because these were fit to the environment of their region. He, besides growing varieties of plants in his nurseries also brought high density variety of fruit plants from the neighboring state of Hamachal Pradesh and supplied them to the fruit growers.

Gradually people of his area shifted their focus towards commercial plantation and tree culture in the vacant lands scattered all around his native places, which also give rise to numerous nurseries mostly in the villages and in the peripheries. He knew that the plant growers prefer such variety of seeds and plants in their farms, which have a quick growth. They cultivate such nurseries in their farms, which were fast in growth and better in produce as well. Gradually the demand for the local and traditional plants with slow growth got discouraged and in their place the new varieties of plants with fast growth and high yield got encouraged. In fact his initiative has been a successful initiative towards protecting environment and meeting the growing consumption of wood and fruits, besides a very significant step towards protecting forest degradation.

The farmers and Zamindars of his locality have also made better usage of their forms and preferred to cultivate such produces which have a quick growth and better yield. They have transformed their agricultural lands into orchards, where high density fruits have been grown all around. Since these fruits have a commendable market in and outside the valley, this trend has caught up more quickly in the entire area and all credit goes to various plant growers and suppliers particularly to Sada Bahaar Nurseries.

Besides promoting the concept of green and fruit Kashmir, Maqbool Hussian was a gentle social activist, multidimensional personality and a loved one of his entire localitt. Since the time he left for heavenly abode, his relatives and friends are mourning and thronging his home.

The best tribute to this environmental and social activist would be to plant more tress on our vacant lands so that the dream of his green and fruit Kulgam is fulfilled. But while promoting the high density plant culture we should also leave some space for our local and traditional fruit and non fruit plants.

The writer is a senior archaeologist and Author.