The 26th Annual Flower & Vegetable Show was inaugurated today at Sports Complex, Noamundi by Ms Ruchi Narendran. She was present on the occasion as the Chief Guest. This four-day 26 the  Annual Flower & Vegetable Show will conclude on January 7, 2016.

Mr Pankaj Satija, General Manager (OMQ), Tata Steel took the Chief Guest and Guest of Honour, Ms Mita Singhal  around the ground and showed them the stalls and the varieties of flowers and vegetables showcased.

Ms Narendran was impressed with the quality of flowers and vegetables displayed. She said: “ This is a good platform to bring communities together. I am glad to see the involvement of school children and mining companies in the nearby areas in today`s programme.” She congratulated the OMQ Division for taking the Annual Flower & Vegetable Show to the next level and urged all those present on the occasion to conserve biodiversity.

Mr Satija while addressing the gathering said: “Flower show is a way to promote and create awareness on biodiversity among the newer generation. We need to put in effort to enrich the biodiversity of this area.”

Various flowers and vegetables were displayed by the Noamundi township residents, local farmers and organizations like Tata Steel Kalinganager,Tata Sponge, Bilaipada, Jindal Steel & Power Limited, Barbil, SAIL, Gua Iron Mine, Joda East Iron Mine of Tata Steel, Sarda Mines Private Limited, Barbil, among others. Total 25 stalls under institutional display and individual categories were put-up. The exhibits under different categories were judged by the judges for which the prizes will be given away on the concluding day of the event. All judges were honoured during the programme by Ms Narendran. Children and community people who participated in the rangoli competition were also honoured by the Chief Guest.

A workshop on basic knowledge of horticulture activities was also organized during the day. Awareness sessions on the use of pesticides in vegetable cropping and preparation of vermicomposting will be conducted by the scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Jagannathpur. Workshop on fine arts for the school children is also part of the four-day Annual Flower & Vegetable Show.

Among those present during the opening ceremony were Mr P K Dhall, Chief Engineering & Projects, OMQ, Tata Steel, Mr R P MALI, Chief Noamundi Iron Mine, Tata Steel, Mr Sanjit Kumar Adhya, Head (Operations), Noamundi Iron mine, Tata Steel , Dr S Swain, Consultant, Orissa State Livelihood Promotion Society , Bhubaneswar, officials of the participating organisations, Union representatives and member of the Mahila Samities- Prerna and Spandan from Noamundi and Joda respectively.