Brand Attingal College to hit food market

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government College, Attingal, is set to sell packaged organic rice powder by setting up a counter on the college campus. This is a result of an effort spanning several months that turned a piece of barren land on the college campus to a rich paddy field. The harvest festival titled ‘Kalalaya Kathirolsavam’ held on Friday was a huge hit.
The NSS unit, students, teachers, other staff members and former students of the college harvested paddy they grew in the land near the college premises. The farming was started in November after teachers and NSS volunteer chipped in for the expenses.
Around 96 cents of barren land near the college was made ready for farming under the leadership of principal V Manikatan Nair and NSS programme officers Sarun S G and K Gopakumar. The students dug up a pond near the field to source water for agriculture. Activities such as planting of saplings were held with the support of Krishi Bhavan at Attingal. In adding to paddy, farming of banana and tapioca too has been started at the campus.
“The result of farming was exciting. Of the total 96 cents of farm land, we got 80kg of rice from just 14 cents. Harvest will be held in other areas in the coming weeks. We are planning to powder the rice and sell it under the brand name of Government College Attingal. We hope organically produced rice will have good demand. We also have vegetables ready for sale. The money will be used to invest in farming,” said principal V Manikantan, who is set to retire by March end.
The principal said he hope that the students will spread farming to more areas. “With the initiative, we are able to make students familiar with our culture of farming. Students themselves water the farm in the morning and evening. By diverting their energy to such productive activities, the college has a peaceful and productive environment,” the principal said. The college has a solar plant, a mini forest, medicinal garden, among others. “The solar plant installed using the fund of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan has helped the college in reducing power bill from around Rs 4,000 to Rs 400,” the principal said.