UDHAGAMANDALAM: Annual summer festivities began in the Nilgiris after the inauguration of the two-day vegetable show at Nehru Park in Kotagiri on Saturday.
Vegetables cultivated in Coimbatore, Theni, Tiruvannamalai, Tirupur, Salem and Erode are on display.
Models of a giant pearl millet made of 750kg of potatoes, a 15-foot-tall cornstalk made of yellow and green capsicums and three elephants made of brinjals are the main attractions at the show, among those of animals and birds made of carrots, radishes and pumpkins. Meanwhile, a dragon and a crocodile made of vegetables attracted hordes of children.
Over 2,000kg of vegetables were used to make the structures, a horticulture department official said. “The cornstalk and pearl millet are to promote use of millets in the district as this is the international year of millet,” said M Karuppasamy, joint director of the Nilgiri district horticulture department. “As many as 31 types of vegetables were used for making the structures and vegetable carvings.”
The show offers an opportunity to see several kinds of vegetables in one place, said S Murugan, a tourist from Palani.
After the show concludes on Sunday, the vegetables will either be sold or given away to visitors. “Except for the cut vegetables, others will not be wasted,” said Karuppasamy.
Tamil Nadu tourism minister K Ramachandaran inaugurated the vegetable show in the presence of Nilgiris collector S P Amrith and Nilgiris MP A Raja. Over 7,000 tourists visited the show on Saturday.
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