JOIN USIrked over absence of officials at the Urban Krishi Mela, Supreme Court Judge Justice V Gopala Gowda said officials should not get their names listed on the invitation if they do not want to turn up.
“It is a disrespect to the organisers,” he said. BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana and BDA chairperson P N Srinivasachari, whose names were mentioned in the invitation, were absent.
Stressing the importance of Krishi melas, Justice Gowda said developed countries must know what developing countries are doing and hence such programmes must be widely publicised.
‘Maintain data’
Justice Gowda also called for an organised maintenance of data related to production and marketing of crops.
Addressing the gathering after inauguration of the Krishi Mela, N K Krishna Kumar, Deputy Director (Horticulture), ICAR, urged the State government to start an orchid centre. “As much as 30 per cent of orchids are smuggled from other countries,” he said.
He said the Krishi Mela should include peri urban areas as well.
Impact
Climate change can be impacted through farming in urban and peri urban regions, Krishna Kumar said while explaining the benefits of urban cultivation.
M K Shankaralinge Gowda, Principal Secretary, Horticulture Department, said urban dwellers should be encouraged to grow vegetables in the backyard and achieve self-sustenance. “Of course, farmers' produce has to be bought. But one can grow a few essential vegetables at home on a small scale,” he said.