Sunday, 16 April 2023 | PNS | NAINITAL
A stretch of barren land covering about 33 acres in the Okhalkanda block in Nainital district has been converted into a fruit orchard by the Horticulture department. The department has planted various varieties of fruits native to the mountainous areas of the State and some other species on this land.
The garden in-charge Indralal Tamta and chief inspector PS Adhikari informed that the orchard is located in a remote area which made its development a difficult task. One has to cover a considerable distance on foot to reach the location of the orchard. In addition to the accessibility issue, the area also suffers from water supply issues. Adhikari managed to develop this barren land into a fruit orchard with the help of his colleagues Om Prakash, Devendra Joshi, Indralal, Pan Singh Mehta, Baldev Singh Mehta and Dungar Singh Mehta. As a result of their joint efforts, about 2,000 fruit trees have been planted on the land. These include peach, plum, apricot, walnut and kiwi.
The Gram Pradhan Chetna Mehta has appreciated the work of the Horticulture department while adding that the local residents also contributed to this task. The task on the barren land began in January this year with clearing of bushes, repair of the boundary wall and digging of holes to plant the fruit saplings. A private company has installed a 20,000 liltre capacity water tank to facilitate irrigation on the land. During the Vasantotsav held earlier this year at the Raj Bhawan in Dehradun, Tamta was felicitated by the governor lieutenant general (retd) Gurmit Singh for this task. The chief horticulture officer has also recommended that Tamta be given a two-year service extension.
