TIRUCHY: For the third consecutive year, inmates of Tiruchy Central Prison harvested organic shallots. About 500 kg was sent to Freedom Bazaar for sale on Sunday.
The vegetable was sold at 80 per kilo, which is 0- 20 per cent less than the market price, said officials. A total of 184 acres of land is cultivable in the prison premises, of which 51 acres are used for growing different varieties of vegetables, greens and sugarcane.
Initially, shallots were cultivated in half-acre but later was expanded to two acres based on the demand in the market. Thirumurugan, Office Superintendent (Freedom Bazaar in-charge) said, “Almost 90 per cent of the crops are cultivated using organic fertilizers such as vermicompost. We are working towards 100 per cent of organic farming in the coming days. The first batch of shallots at the Bazaarsell like hotcakes and many people showed interest in buying the organically-grown vegetable.”
The prison management has planned to extend the cultivation to herbal and medicinal plants. Speaking to TNIE, Kanagaraj, DIG Prisons (Tiruchy range), said, “Though there are more than 184 acres of agriculture land, only one-fourth of it is being used for cultivation due to irrigation issues. Monsoon and rains due to the cyclone have ensured a decent amount of water in irrigation tanks. Using this, we have started preparing fields for medicinal plants such as tulsi, hibiscus, etc. It will also be made into herbal tea powder and kept for sales."