The District Agricultural Farm at Karimbam, near Taliparamba, will soon be a tourism destination as the government has decided to launch a Rs. 5-crore farm tourism project at the farm.
The decision to launch the farm tourism project was taken at a meeting chaired by Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar in Thiruvananthapuram on July 3, an official press release said here on Thursday.
Agriculture Secretary Rathan Kelkar had visited the farm a few days ago and recommended to expand the proposed Rs. 1.5-crore farm tourism project.
The meeting on Wednesday decided to replace it with the Rs. 5-crore project.
The press release said that the meeting was attended by, among others, local MLA James Mathew, Agricultural Production Commissioner D.K. Singh, Mr. Kelkar and District Tourism Promotion Council secretary Jithish Jose. The meeting decided to develop the farm into a tourism destination that could attract both domestic and foreign tourists as well as researchers and students.
The district panchayat would allocate Rs. 2 crore and the Agriculture Department Rs. 3 crore.
Major works
The works proposed to be done as part of the farm tourism project are expansion of the biodiversity park in the farm, construction of an electric car path and accommodation facilities in the farm rest house where former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, the former President V.V. Giri and former Chief Minister E.M.S. Namboodirippad had stayed, development of dormitory, tree house, thatched huts, tent lodging and ponds, facilities for introducing traditional agricultural practices and setting up of a farm library and a museum of agricultural implements of yore, among others.
