Observation of World Environment Day Cum Launch of Integrated
Tribal Development Programme - ITDP-V at Daji Badima playground under Chokpot C&RD Block organized by BAKDIL.
The General manager of the NABARD Regional office Shillong Dr. Prabhudatta Sahoo was the chief guest. Shri KhelChandra Chongtham, DDM, NABARD South Garo Hills, Mr. Rike Chelchak A Sangma, Subject Matter Specialist (Agronomy), KVK Chokpot SGH, Fr. Sunny Joseph Mavelil, Director of BAKDIL, and beneficiaries from 15 villages were present in the programme.
The project supports 200 beneficiaries from 15 far-flung villages with horticulture-based food crop plantations. Each of the 200 households has been provided with 30 saplings of Assam Tall variety of coconut and 50 Budded Khasi Mandarin variety saplings of oranges as base crops. The project will also provide 1000 suckers of Queen pineapple as intercrop and 100 cuttings of drumsticks tree as a border crop.
Including the newly launched project, the BAKDIL organization is currently implementing such programmes in four different blocks, namely, ITDP-II in Kharkutta, ITDP-III in Samanda, ITDP-IV in Rongram Block, and this ITDP-V in Chokpot .
ITDP-I the first project under the Tribal Development fund was successfully implemented in Zikzak block where the beneficiaries received the provisions for Mango and litchi plantations.
General Manager of NABARD from regional office Shillong Dr. Prabhudatta Sahoo said that the heavy downpour is indeed a blessing and we should celebrate and embrace it with joyous hearts. "Despite the heavy downpour the people came forward to celebrate the occasion with good spirits, I salute these good spirits," he added.
The GM Dr. Sahoo also urged the beneficiaries to keep up the same spirit throughout the project period of 6 years in order to make it successful and fruitful. "It is not the NABARD nor the BAKDIL nor the Horticulture department or KVK who gets the benefits of this project, it is you! You have to take up ownership of your plantations. That will determine the project's outcome," he said while addressing the gathering. "The NABARD is an Agriculture bank and BAKDIL is an organization, but the project is you", he added
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He also said that he is confident with the capability of the Bakdil organization and urged the people to follow the guidelines given by the organization to make the project successful.
The District Development Manager, South Garo Hills, Shri KhelChandra Chongtham said that every beneficiary should care for each plantation as if the coconut and oranges provided are their own family members. He motivates the people to water the plantation regularly and makes every plantation grow.
Later after the program the Director of Bakdil Fr Sunny Mavelil interacted with the beneficiaries and strongly encouraged them to take up such activities saying that the plantation of areca nuts and rubber trees will bring money but the environment for the future generation will disappear. "If you don't react now our children and grandchildren will have to buy water for drinking," he said. "What is good about having money and not having clean and safe drinking water?" he strikes this question at the gathering.
He mentioned that in order to preserve the present streams and rivers we have to slowly move towards food crop cultivation from cash crops.
To mark the World Environment Day celebration, the General manager of NABARD and other esteemed guests plants orange saplings.
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