8-day long Darjeeling Tea and Tourism festival ends

SNS, 1 January 2014: The eight-day long Darjeeling Tea and Tourism festival today ended with quite favourable crowds gathered at Chowrasta where the local artists performed cultural dance and song on the occasion of the first day of the year 2014. 

Now, the administration is all geared to organise Agro-horti techno fair or Krishi Mela. 

"Although the dates have not been fixed, it is likely that the fair will be held starting this month to be held in in Darjeeling and its sub-division,” according to sources. 

The administration and various stake holders had recently conducted one meeting ahead of the fair. Last year, the event was hosted at various areas within Darjeeling district from 5 January to 18 January to boost the hills agricultural and horticultural sector. 

“The event was successful last year. This time, we will try to come up with various programmes,” said the source. 

The idea is to promote and to bring about sustainability on agricultural productivity in the Hills with added entertainment ~ cultural programme, folk shows, songs and dance along with hot air balloon, paragliding, zorbing ball and many more, the source added. 

The programmes and seminars would also be held to promote floriculture, cultivation mushroom and oranges, practice of rearing animals, cum workshop on ornamental fish, cinchona, medicinal plants and rubber plantation, Horticulture workshop on bee keeping, demonstrating organic farming, vermi-compost, Cardamom and ginger plantation in the Hills and also programmes related to forest protection.