The Hindu : Karnataka News : They don’t shop for vegetables

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Saturday, Dec 01, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

They don’t shop for vegetables

Suresh Bhat

Students of government hostel in Bijapur district develop kitchen garden

The hostel was set up by the Department of Backward Classes and Minorities in 1978
‘The gardening activities have inculcated a sense of self-reliance among the students’

Hard work: Students removing weeds in the kitchen garden in Bijapur on Friday.

SHIVANAGI (BIJAPUR DISTRICT): Students staying in the pre-matriculation hostel along the Bijapur-Gulbarga State Highway here have developed a kitchen garden with a wide range of vegetables, including brinjal and cucumber.

The hostel was set by the Department of Backward Classes and Minorities in 1978. After the hostel was shifted from a rented building to a sprawling compound, the hostel staff decided to utilise the spread of an acre alongside the hostel for gardening. Soon, they set up the garden with the help of students. Superintendent of the hostel L.L. Sanadi said the gardening activities had inculcated a sense of “self-reliance” among the students. It also earned him a State-level Best Superintendent Award instituted by the department, last year.

He said that although the hostel staff helped the students initially, now the garden was being taken care of by the students.

Praveen Naavi, a class IX student, who has been staying in the hostel for three years, said, “We regularly water the plants and remove weeds. The chores are rotated among us. We also collect and preserve seeds to be sown in the next season.” .

Better results

The garden also ensure that the students get fresh vegetables for their meals. As most of the students hail from agricultural families, the garden also provides them a familiar atmosphere.

Manjunath Hadapad, a student of class VIII, said, “I never feel homesick. Whenever I feel bored, I visit the garden. The visit freshens my mind and I can study harder.” .

According to B.T. Biradar, District BCM Officer, the students were getting better results in examinations and had fewer health problems than students in other hostels. The department was contemplating such gardening activities for other hostels too, he added.

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