State to start friends of honeybee initiative

Pune, May 19: To create awareness about the importance of honeybees in the ecological cycle and the environment, the Maharashtra State Khadi and Village Industries Board (MSKVIB) is starting ‘Friends of Honeybee’ initiative. This was announced by Vishal Chordia, Chairman of MSKVIB in Pune while inaugurating the special honeybee festival being organized on the first ever World Honeybee Day at Mahakhadi Campus of the board at Handmade Paper institute, Agriculture College, Shivaji Nagar, Pune.

During the festival which would be on till May 21st all the information about Bee keeping, business opportunities related to honey, equipment required for the same and the government schemes available in this segment shall be available under one roof. Initiatives like, special information counters that will help the consumer to check purity of the honey, showcasing certain documentaries on the subject and providing detailed information about the importance of Bee keeping and honey business for agriculture and environment shall also be undertaken during this festival.

The United Nations General Assembly has declared May 20th as the World Bee Day to draw attention to importance of preserving honeybees and other pollinators so that people will be reminded of the importance of bees for the entire humanity and shall be encouraged to take concrete action to preserve and protect them.

“Calling the pest control agencies for the removal of the bee hive in the surrounding areas is a common practice in urban areas. Rather than going for such a harmful step for Bees, we are exploring the possibility of the proper scientific removal of the bee hive without killing the bees and then rehabilitate it for better use under this friend of honeybee initiative”, said Vishal Chordia.

“Under this first of its kind drive in the country, an attempt would be made to create Friends of Honeybee in important cities of the state. These Friends of Honeybees would have proper training for the scientific removal of the bee hives and shall be accessible through a centralized helpline number to be set up by the board. This will be an important step towards Bee conversation”, he added.

Chordia also announced that his department has proposed a first of its kind ‘Honey Park’ at Mahabaleshwar in 2 acres land which is in possession of the board. A formal proposal has been submitted to the state government in his regard. This one of its kind ‘Honey Park’ in the country will primarily act as a tourist destination and as an awareness centre loaded with many attractions for kids and adults. The park will underline the importance conservation of bees.

Deep Varma (Director, Central Bee Research and Training Institute, Pune), Ramesh Surung (Director – Hadmade Paper Institute, Pune), Nana Kshirsagar, Sarika Sasawade and Prashant Savant (Honey business experts), Amit Godse (Bee Conservationist), Hukmichand Chordia, Anil Khedkar (District Village Industries Officer) were present on the occasion. N. K. Patil played the anchor for the event.