Thursday, 04 January 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Red paddy cultivated principally in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand has received a major boost as it has figured second in the agriculture category of the one district one product award held in Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Mention worthy, red paddy of the district secured the second position amidst competition involving over 500 districts across the country. Notably, the red paddy got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag along with 26 products of the State in November last. The Union Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal presided over the ODOP award-giving ceremony while the External Affairs minister S Jai Shankar was the chief guest. The Uttarkashi district magistrate Abhishek Ruhela received the runner-up award from Goyal. Notably, cultivation of red paddy- endowed with special health-enhancing qualities- is done on a large scale in the Rawai region of the district. The State’s advancement in the realm of traditional crop farming under the guidance of the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was highly appreciated at the award- giving ceremony. It was also mentioned that at the initiative of the CM, red paddy cultivation was started in large swathes of farmland in the Ganga valley areas. The district administration has been providing high-yielding seeds, fertilisers and other support as part of promoting the production of red paddy. While the Uttarkashi district admiration, the State agriculture department and the State industry department had appealed to the Centre for the award in August last year, a Central government team came to the district in October/ November to conduct ground inspection and found the State government’s claim just in accordance with the new standards set up for crop quality evaluation.
This aside, at the State-level competition, Uttarakhand won the second prize, considered another achievement for the State that is claimed to be on the first track of all-round development.
