Engage in terrace gardening: minister

District In-Charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj said that terrace gardening has been  gaining momentum due to decrease in water level.

Speaking after inaugurating a training programme on terrace and horticulture gardening at Pragathi Soudha organised by horticulture department and Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Programme (SKDRDP), the minister said that it is essential to overcome the shortage of land availability to grow vegetables. Terrace gardening will be a better substitute, he observed.

He said that people were healthy in olden days as everything was grown using organic fertilisers. Today, food grains and vegetables should be grown in a healthy way and the use of harmful fertilisers should be prevented, he said.

The horticulture department has been lending hand to support the idea of organic farming and the public should make use of it. There is a need to follow the old way of life, he said and added the public in Udupi should take up terrace gardening.

Zilla panchayat vice president Sheela Shetty said terrace gardening will be a good hobby for women and it will help them to support their family with healthy diet. Udupi City Municipal Council president Meenakshi Madhav Bannanje said that the training programme will be held in all the 35 wards of municipality.

The minister released a booklet on the growth of Udupi Mallige and Mattigulla brought out by horticulture department on the occasion. The training programme was conducted by the scientists from Brahmavar Agriculture and Horticulture Centre Dr B Dhananjaya and Dr Chaitanya.