KOCHI: The harvest festival (Koythu Utsavam) was launched at Thottara Puncha on Tuesday. Around 2,500 acres at Thottara Puncha was lying barren for years without cultivation and was once known as the rice bowl of Ernakulam. Inaugurating the harvest fest, Haritha Kerala Mission executive vice-chairperson T N Seema said Ernakulam district has set a model by itself in promoting agriculture.
The Thottara brand rice will hit the markets soon. Initially, the plan is to produce 1,500 tonnes of paddy and after treatment, the district administration, Agriculture Department and Padashekara Samithy are planning to sell 300 tonnes of rice. A mill will be set up at Thottara region for the processing of paddy.
Anoop Jacob MLA inaugurated the meeting held in connection with the harvest. District Collector K Mohammed Y Safeerulla released the logo of Thottara brand rice. It was as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the Indian Oil Corporation that the harvest festival was conducted this year.
The Company funded the paddy cultivation at 525 acres of land at Thottara Puncha. P S Mony, State head, Indian Oil, handed over the cheque worth Rs 8 lakh to Johnson, deputy director of Agriculture, Ernakulam, for rejuvenation of Thottara Puncha. Mony also talked about the efforts put forth by IOC in the CSR front in Kerala spending over Rs 3 crore in 2017-18 in various avenues from education to health, agriculture to environment which has helped in the betterment of the lives of many.