The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has decided to promote organic farming in a big way.
If the plan of the KPCC works, then at least one household in the 21,458 electoral booths in the State will soon start cultivating organic vegetables. Organic farming is being promoted as part of the fortnight-long Gandhi Jayanti programme “Gandhi Haritha Smrithi.” The KPCC set an example by beginning organic vegetable cultivation on the premises of Indira Bhavan, its State headquarters. Accordingly, 146 potted vegetable plants have been set up there to commemorate the 146th birth anniversary of Gandhiji.
At booth level KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran said he had directed booth presidents to select at least one household for establishing an organic vegetable cultivation unit. KPCC general secretary Thampanoor Ravi, who is the chief coordinator of the scheme, said the party’s objective was to contribute to the State’s current efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in vegetable production. “Besides, it will also promote good health by marketing organic vegetables free of pesticides,” he said.
But what the Congress leaders do not want to share is the immense possibilities of political mobilisation at the local level. With the local body elections round the corner, initiatives such organic vegetable cultivation would help party workers to carry out grassroots-level political work.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) recently announced that it proposed to effectively intervene in local waste disposal and management issues and ensure participation of its cadres. The party has been conducting a series of workshops on municipal waste management, primarily promoting aerobic waste disposal methods.
