The Delhi government has started training women for underprivileged communities and physically handicapped individuals in hydroponics, a soilless agriculture system, to grow exotic vegetables such as lettuce, bok choy, parsley, rocket leaves, and fruits, among others, which are in high demand in fine-dining institutions in the Capital.
The training is now being undertaken by the Delhi transport department at a Hydroponics Horticulture Training Facility at Kushak Nallah cluster bus depot near Lodhi Road, and the trainees will receive certificates from the Agriculture Skill Council of India. On February 4, transport minister Kailash Gahlot presented certificates to the first group of 20 trainees.
The training has given Daryaganj resident Kavita Kashyap (47), who lost her work as an office assistant during the pandemic, a light of hope. "Through a mutual friend, I learned about the hydroponics instruction. I finished the training and was selected to be a trainer. "In the future, I want to create my hydroponics setup and become an entrepreneur," Kavita said.
Kajal (20), an IGNOU first-year B.Sc (zoology) student, said she took the training because she wanted to establish her own business. "My father works at a private factory, and I come from a humble background." "Right now, there are very few persons in the market who can meet the increased demand for exotic veggies and organic products," Kajal, a Paharganj resident, said. From March 5, 12 of the 20 trained women began instructing students in classes 9 and 11 from 136 Delhi government schools as part of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Each batch will have 50 students (25 from each class 9 and 11), according to officials, and the department has set a goal of training roughly 6,800 students.
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