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The Hindu
16-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Coconut farmers association's plea to government
The East Coast Coconut Farmers Association has urged the State government to set up the proposed Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), an integral part of the Union Government-funded National Agricultural Research System (NARS) scheme, at Pattukottai instead of Eachankottai in Orathanadu taluk. In a memorandum to Tamil Nadu Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the association pointed out that the setting up of KVK at Pattukottai, instead of at the Agricultural College at Echankottai, had certain advantages in terms of infrastructure development and logistics. The KVK could be set up without delay on major capital outlay at the Regional Extension Training Centre (RETC), Pattukottai, where land and buildings were available. Also, East Coast Road was an excellent logistics corridor for export of value-added coconut and other agricultural products to reach the sea and air-borne shipment infrastructure facilities at Tuticorin. Claiming that the large concentration of coconut farming in Pattukottai and Peravurani region would ensure long-term rural employment opportunities from technical staff and filed demonstrators to input supplies, value-addition units and market link facilitators, the association said the setting up of a coconut-focused KVK at Pattukottai would help provide the latest, best-practice technologies in varietal selection, water-use efficiency, nutrient management, pest surveillance and post-harvest value addition directly to small and marginal coconut farmers, who currently rely on outdated methods.
The Hindu
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
‘Akhanda Godavari' will become an iconic tourist destination, says Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister K. Pawan Kalyan on Thursday performed bhumi puja for the ₹94-crore Akhanda Godavari project on the banks of the Godavari in Rajamahendravaram. Under the Union Government-funded Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI), the State government would renovate the 125-year-old Havelock Bridge with more tourist attractions, apart from developing Dowleswaram, Kadiyam, Kovvur, Nidadavolu, and surrounding areas as prime tourist destinations. Mr. Shekhawat and Mr. Pawan Kalyan went round the photo exhibition on the projects proposed under Akhanda Godavari initiative. Addressing the gathering at the Havelock Bridge, Mr. Shekhawat said, 'The Godavari riverfront development project, titled Akhanda Godavari, will become an iconic tourist destination in India. The project aims at creating a comprehensive riverfront experience anchored along the 125-year-old Havelock Bridge and Pushkar Ghat.' 'The Akhanda Godavari project is the most ambitious among the ₹450-crore worth of seven projects that have been sanctioned to Andhra Pradesh over the past one year,' said Mr. Shekhawat. He further said that walkers would be allowed to walk for 1.2 km on the bridge, on which an interpretation centre would come up to showcase Godavari regional culture and heritage. He observed that at least 20 lakh annual footfalls of tourists could be expected at the Havelock Bridge and the Tent City on its island. Mr. Shekhawat said the three-acre Kadiyam flower nurseries' experience centre would feature flower exhibitions, live demonstrations and offer Godavari regional cuisines. Wish fulfilled: Pawan In his address, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said the decades'-long wish to renovate the abandoned Havelock Bridge was being fulfilled with the Akhanda Godavari project. He reminded that Rajamahendravaram was the land where Adikavi Nannaya was born, and civilisation thrived by the river. State Minister for Tourism and Culture Kandula Durgesh and MP D. Purandeswari appealed to Mr. Shekhawat to sanction a branch of the National School of Drama.
