Behind the Scene

From Khagrachari
The Garden of Tushar Basu

Saif-ul-Islam Shipu

Tushar Kanti Basu has been a prominent figure in the agriculture of the region since he established a mixed fruit garden on the hilly terrain of Khagrachari, where he grows fruit-bearing and non fruit-bearing trees as well as other plants with medicinal properties. He amazed other farmers of the community with his bumper harvest, and has consequently been awarded the title of “Best Farmer” by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2007. This year, he earned over Tk. 5 lakh from the sales of Amropali and Rotna mangoes alone!

He started out in 2004, on just 7 acres of land which he inherited. His love of nature pulled him away from his prior job of being a janitor and made him create the garden he has today. His thoughts are occupied by nothing by the plants and trees in his garden. His entire day is usually spent on taking care of his existing trees and planting new ones.

Tushar Basu says that he owes his success to not only his dedication and hard work, but also to the advice and support of the local nursery division. Within just 3 years of the inception of the garden, Tushar is starting to earn profits. The garden of this humble man from Dighinala is now quite a sight, with pineapples, oranges, mangoes, guavas and many other species of fruit. The garden is so well organized that it almost seems like a large botanical garden. Around 15 gardeners now work in Tushar Basu's garden which is frequented by fruit sellers who purchase their wholesale there.

Hundreds of people come to gaze at this amazing garden. Observing his success, many residents of the area have developed a keen interest in gardening and come to him for advice. Tushar, the owner of the best fruit garden of 2007 attributes his success to a love for gardening, the application of the correct agricultural techniques and proper maintenance.

According to a local agricultural worker, it was solely his love of nature and for gardening that lured Tushar Basu to this enterprise. At present, many other residents have followed suit, and have created gardens in the neglected hilly region. According to over two thousand fruit growers in the area, the sustainability and profitability of these gardens cannot be ensured without the establishment of proper distribution channels, fruit packaging services and communication facilities.

Fruit grower Tushar Basu is proud of his fruits as well as medicinal herbs and plants. Altogether, he is the owner of approximately 50 thousand trees and plants, among which there are 500 different species. Other residents of the area could possibly to make similar gains by following in the footsteps of Tushar Basu.

Copyright (R) thedailystar.net 2008