NEC sanctioned Rs 30.75 lakh for Tripura orange

Agartala, May 22 (UNI) The North Eastern Council (NEC) has sanctioned Rs 30.75 lakh to rejuvenate orange gardens in Jampui hill of Tripura.

State Agriculture Minister Tapan Chakraborty here today said that the department had planned to bring about 70 hectares of land under orange cultivation next year and revive the old orchards.

''As a part of the programme, altogether 35 orange cultivators of Jampui have been imparted training at Nagpur Research Centre for Citrus (NRCC), while about 100 more are supposed to join the classes soon,'' Mr Chakraborty told UNI.

Meanwhile, the department has taken decision of planting new orange saplings in some selected areas of the hill, as the productivity of the gardens were dwindling during past five years.

However, pest attacks and lack of proper gardening caused the detoriation in the quality of the plant, Mr Chakroborty said.

He added that efforts were being made to increase the production substantially.

''Jampui, which is a tourist destination, also produces good quality orange which has demand even outside of the region,'' he claimed.

UNI