Jhansi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi invoked a miracle in Bundelkhand, where strawberries were being grown in the parched, arid region during his Mann ki Baat programme on Sunday.
He lauded the innovative skill of a law student, who steered the month-long strawberry festival in Jhansi and praised the spirit of Bundelkhand farmers, who were breaking stereotype to open new avenues in agriculture. Innovation and technology were used to cultivate strawberries, which otherwise grows in hills, the prime minister said. “When I mention Bundelkhand, what comes to your mind? Those inclined to history will connect the area with Jhansi’s Rani Lakshmi Bai or serene environs of Orchha, while others will relate to the extreme heat conditions, but something different is happening here. A month-long strawberry festival was organized in Jhansi. Everyone was surprised. Strawberry and Bundelkhand? But this is the truth,” the PM said.
He particularly referred to a Jhansi-based woman law student, Gurleen Chawla, who grew the fruit on her terrace, before taking it to the farm. Overwhelmed by Modi’s praise, Gurleen told to TOI she was thankful to the PM, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Jhansi MP Anurag Sharma and district magistrate Andra Vamsi for helping her in the venture.
Talking to TOI, Vamsi said, “we are promoting horticulture crop along with mixed dry land farming in Bundelkhand with technological help from Central Agroforestry Research Institute and Grassland Research Institute to raise income of farmers. They are being trained with latest agri-technology.”
The Jhansi strawberry festival was virtually inaugurated by chief minister Yogi Adityanath on January 17 and will continue till February 16. Yogi had said, “the festival will change people’s perception about Bundelkhand. By sheer hard work and innovation, farmers will make history.”