Governor turns Raj Bhavan into farm; harvests vegetables grown there

hiruvananthapuram, Sep 16 (PTI) Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Tuesday personally led the harvest of crops cultivated at his official residence here turning the premises into a thriving model farm.

On the five-acre plot in the premises, where farming was taken up on a large scale, the Governor, who was pleased with the rich yield, plucked the vegetables and inquired about the differences between the various varieties of crops and which dishes can be made out of them, a Raj Bhavan release said.

The vegetables ready for harvest include snake gourd, spinach, drumstick, ash gourd, pumpkin, cucumber, perennial brinjal, cabbage, brinjal, long beans, tapioca, green chilli, and sweet potato, it said.

The Governor, according to the release, said that he felt proud to see his vision of transforming Raj Bhavan into a productive vegetable garden becoming a reality.

"The Governor had wished to distribute vegetable kits from this farm to all Raj Bhavan staff before Onam. However, heavy rains affected the plan, allowing only spinach, beans, and ladies finger to be included in the Onam kits," the release said.

Among the crops, beans occupy the largest area -- 400 planting pits across three varieties, it said.

Besides that, there are 300 banana plants (Rasakathali variety) and 250 tapioca pits as well.

Vegetables like ladies finger, green chilli, perennial brinjal and others have been planted in plots of about 10 cents each.

The release said that Arlekar drew inspiration for this endeavour from a successful farming experiment he initiated while serving as the Governor of Bihar.

"The project also aims to effectively utilise the service and effort of Raj Bhavan staff. A supervisor from the Agriculture Department has been appointed to oversee the work. Proper maintenance has resulted in a remarkably good yield," the release said. PTI HMP HMP SA