Ooty: Following the announcement made by the government on the proposal to establish an eco-park at Shootingmund area near here, voices have now begun to emerge to set up an exclusive pomological garden in Nilgiris.
The initiative is aimed at making it a new era tourist attraction to showcase the pomological wealth of Nilgiris, besides making it model centre to take lessons on pomology and to pave way for common man to show interest in growing fruit trees and horticulture.
Making this appeal S.K. Selvaraj, founder of ‘Universal Affectionates Foundation’, an NGO here, said that in the era of garden creations in Nilgiris, it is right time to set up a unique pomological garden, which should include the common herbs being used in kitchen gardens, to make it a grand fruits-based tourism attraction .
"The pomological wealth of the Nilgiris is well known. Besides the native fruits like Elaeocarpus(Vikkipazham in tamil), , hill jamun fruit, jack fruit, hill banana, tree tomato, native passion fruit, orange, custard apple, pomegranate and host of other wild fruits, Nilgiris is also the home to exotic fruit varieties such as peach, pears, plum, rambutan, mangosteen, carambola longsat, durian, orange, custard apple and avocado," he said.
"Since so many native and exotic fruits grow well in Nilgiris as the agro-climatic conditions are very conducive for the growth of these fruits in the hills, the government should think about growing these various species of fruit trees in a single garden to make it a unique pomological garden attraction to charm tourists. This will not only pave way for tourism promotion through pomological base, but, would also help the tourists taste various fruits which are packed with health supporting nutrients and trigger an interest in pomology and the need to take to eating fruits to keep good health” he noted.
"It is also pertinent to note that native fruits like Elaeocarpus, hill jamun are good in treating diabetics. So, if pomological garden is set up and fruits with medicinal values are sold in good quantities there, this in turn will lead to building a healthy society too," Mr. Selvaraj advocated.
