Every year, thousands of tourists from the northern districts of the State journey through Wayanad to Karnataka to enjoy the beauty of flower gardens set up on the Kerala-Karnataka border. However, civic bodies, farmers groups, and other organisations have set up their own gardens in the district this year to tap the tourism potential during the Onam holidays.
An innovative floriculture project of the Sulthan Bathery Municipality aimed at attracting tourists to the town, known for its cleanliness, opened to visitors on Friday.
The project was launched in June in association with the Haritha Karma Sena (HKS) under the civic body. The initiative, launched as part of the Happy Happy Sulthan Bathery project, envisages popularising the “happy culture” of the civic body across the State.
The HKS members have planted three types of marigold plants on two acres of land near Sulthan Bathery town. They have also planted other flowering plants such as sunflowers and gomphrena, says T.K. Ramesh, chairman, Sulthan Bathery Municipality.
The civic body has spent ₹3 lakh for the project and the organisers anticipate to recoup the amount in a couple of weeks.
While the owners of the marigold gardens in Karnataka are charging ₹50 to ₹100 as entry fee for a person for a photography session, we are charging only ₹20 per person, he said.
As the project is not a profit-making venture, the income generated from it would be disbursed among the HKS members, who keep the town clean, he added.
We are planning to launch cultural activities at the venue in connection with Onam from Sunday, Mr. Ramesh said.
A group of tribal women at Panappady in Noolpuzha grama panchayat have also set up a garden nearly 100-metres away from the Kozhikode-Kollegal National Highway 766. They have set the garden on half an acre of rented land. As many as 5,000 marigold plants blooming in yellow and orange would be a visual treat to visitors.
They have launched the pilot project with financial assistance from the Tribal Development department under the Haritarashmi project implemented through the Centre for Management Development (CMD).
The project aims at attracting tribal people to farming after imparting its basics.
“We have sold nearly 300 kg of marigold flowers when 30% of harvest has been completed. The price varies from ₹80 to ₹150 a kg depending on the market rate,” Anu Alfonsa, project officer, CMD said.
Kottathara grama panchayat has also set up a garden on half an acre of land apart from many a farmer who tried their luck in floriculture during the season.
