Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi relishes a litchi at the Litchipuram Utsav 2011 and (above) agriculture minister Narendra Singh, Modi and sugarcane industries and minor irrigation minister Awadhesh Prasad Kushwaha inaugurate the festival in Mehsi on Monday. Pictures by Ajit Kumar Verma

Litchipuram (Mehsi, East Champaran), June 6: Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi inaugurated the three-day Litchipuram Utsav 2011 at Tirhut High School here today.

In his brief address to the farmers, Modi assured better resources to them and asked lichi growers to adopt new technology that could enable them to compete with farmers in the agriculturally developed countries of the world.

The deputy CM also visited the nearly dead local units related with shell buttons and honey purification. He asked the East Champaran district magistrate to form two separate committees to find out ways to betterment of the litchi growers as well as for the producers of honey and shell buttons of Champaran and submit his report within three months.

Speaking about the proposed central university in the name of Mahatma Gandhi in Champaran, Modi repeated the state government’s firm stand and said if the central university would be set up in Bihar, it would only be Champaran and nowhere else in the state. “With advent of the monsoon session, all NDA legislators and members of the Parliament have resolved to sit on dharna near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue before the Parliament.

Agriculture minister Narendra Singh, who was chief guest on the occasion, in his address, spoke of better facilities for litchi growers and the producers of honey and shell buttons of Champaran, but refused to set up any new centre here. He, however, assured to put up the requirement of farmers before the Centre, as the Litchi Research Institute could not be set up without the assistance of the National Council Agriculture Research, New Delhi.

Farmers of Champaran had been voicing their unrest since long against apathy of the government, for suppressing the litchi growers of Champaran. Despite the fact that Mehsi region is the largest litchi-producing area in this maximum litchi-producing district in the state, East Champaran is still to get the status what it deserved, lamented the litchi growers.

According to government data, East Champaran has been the highest producer of litchi, out of 40 per cent of the country’s production, also grown by the farmers in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali and Samastipur districts. Of the total crop cultivation, over 15,000 hectares in the whole district only in Mehsi region, litchi is grown by farmers over 11,000 acres.

Mehsi, an important place in this district and also widely known for litchi honey, prepared from the litchi flowers (only in Mehsi in the whole country) as also for the famous shell buttons was first given the name of Litchipuram way back in 2003 by then district magistrate S. Sheo Kumar when he had visited there to investigate charges repeatedly levelled by Mehsi people. He was shocked to see that despite being the largest producer of litchi in the state, the name and fame associated with the produce was given to the neighbouring Muzaffarpur district.

Cultural performances by select artists of repute would be held on all three days. Eminent professors, scientists and specialists from Rajendra Agriculture University, Pusa, and National Horticulture Mission would take part in the seminars.