Officials hope that such farming will help tackle the problem of deteriorating environment and revive the greenery in the Kathmandu city. [break]
With the increasing urbanization, real estate business and land plotting, farmland and greenery have been shrinking rapidly in the valley.
´Such farming will also minimize the green house gas emission and reduce the production of garbage,´ said Laxman Aryal, an Executive Officer of KMC. He said that over 100 urban dwellers have already received training of such farming and about 500 will receive training soon.
According to Aryal, the concept of rooftop farming is not new and a lot of urban dwellers already been practicing such farming. ´Farming is possible even in densely populated areas. A lot of residents themselves have already been growing vegetables in flower pots,´ added Aryal. He said that the metropolis will encourage other city dwellers to start farming in their terrace and rooftops.
The Environ Department of the KMC said that the office will provide 50 percent discount on trash bins for the households that commit to start roof top farming. The metropolis has been charging Rs 2,000 for each trash bin. ´We will reduce the price of bins by 50 percent for those who commit to start farming on the rooftop,´ said Rabinman Shrestha, an official at the department, adding, ´Besides decorative benefits people will also get organic vegetables from such farming.´
Shrestha said that such farming will help to deal with chronic problems of garbage disposal that has been a major nuisance for the metropolis for years. He said that rooftop farming has gained popularity in big cities of developed countries. Shrestha said that such farming will also encourage the city dwellers for rain water harvesting.
The UN- HABITAT has been assisting the metropolis to impart training to the urban dwellers. The metropolis had enforced two tree policies compulsorily from January this year to revive the greenery of the valley. People building new house have to allocate space at least for two trees to get approval from the metropolis.
Related story
Urban rooftop farms as new city culture
