Assam’s Cachar district wins SKOCH Award for nutri-garden project at village
Objective was to make villagers self-reliant throughout pandemic: Deputy Commissioner
A yard backyard project that enabled a village on the Bangladesh border to devour nutritious vegetation and greens and earn by promoting the excess produce has earned an award for a southern Assam district.
Cachar Deputy Commissioner Keerthi Jalli acquired the National Silver SKOCH Award a number of days in the past for ‘Pushti Nirbhor’ (nutrition-dependent), a convergence project on transformation and improvement entailing establishing nutri-gardens at homes in Dinnathpur Bagicha village.
The village is close to the India-Bangladesh border in Katigorah circle of Cachar district.
Instituted in 2003, SKOCH Award salutes individuals, initiatives and establishments that go the additional mile to make India a greater nation.
“We wanted to develop a work model under Assam Adarsha Gramin Yojana where every department will work in convergence towards a common achievement. We focussed on a village adjacent to the Bangladesh border to make the residents, especially the women self-reliant,” Ms. Jalli mentioned.
Under the project, 30,000 seedlings of greens, fruits and natural vegetation had been distributed amongst 140 beneficiaries. Each family of the village was additionally given fee for 75 man-days to implement the project.
“The main objective was to train the villagers toward becoming self-reliant during the pandemic, grow enough for their own nutritional needs and sell the surplus in the markets,” the Deputy Commissioner mentioned.
She credited the success of the project to her group of administrative officers in addition to the ladies of Dinnathpur Bagicha.
“Fortunately, the Gaon Panchayat president of the village is a woman, which made it possible to undertake the project for reducing malnutrition in the village,” Ms. Jalli added.
