Bhaderwah, June 24:The natural beauty of this mini Kashmir might be attracting more and more tourists from across the state and the country but Bhaderwah region is also developing itself as a favourite destination for “honeybee tourism”.
This is happening at a time when honeybees are on the verge of extinction in rest of the country, which could be disastrous for the whole ecosystem.
Few bee keepers in and around Bhaderwah town are working hard to tap the potential of natural resources important for keeping honeybees intact and produce good-quality honey. On one side, they earn their livelihood by producing honey and selling it and on the other hand, tourists get attracted and visit the areas to take a look at bee keeping.
A couple of such bee tourism destinations are Bhalla area, falling on Doda-Bhaderwah road, and Sarthal on Bhaderwah-Basholi road of Kathua district.
The family of Muhammad Shabir, a bee keeper at Sarthal, is in the business for the past 30 years. They started it with one box and now they have dozens of boxes, attracting tourists.
“We bring honeybees here in April and stay here till August end. We produce best-quality honey and sell it in the market and to tourists. Some other locals have also started this business and all of us are doing well,” Shabir said.
The honey in Sarthal is produced by Indica type of honeybees, which is considered one of the best quality honey. “There is a huge demand of this honey and we sell it to tourists and people down in plains,” he added.
In Bhalla area, Muhammad Ishaq and his family is also in the business of bee keeping but they shift from one place to another in search of best quality flowers required for bee keeping.
“During winters, we went to Rajasthan and these days we have shifted base to Kashmir valley,” he said.
