Udhagamandalam: Declaring the Nilgiris as ‘Organic district’, municipal administration minister S P Velumami said the district would become completely organic in the next three years.He inaugurated the sesquicentennial celebration of the Nilgiris district at RCTC building in Ooty on Monday. The function was organized by the district administration.To mark the occasion, a logo of Nilgiris district sesquicentennial (1868-2018) was released besides a special postal cover depicting the heritage building of the Nilgiris Collector’s office and Kurinji flower. The special postal cover was designed by Gokul Gowder, a Badaga artist of the Nilgiris.Speaking on the occasion, Velumani said, “Switching to organic is the need of the hour, given the toxic consequences of chemical fertilizers used in farming. Broadly speaking, considering the larger shift of the Nilgiris to organic, hereby, I declare Nilgiris as ‘Organic district.’”He added, “Certainly, in another three years the hill district will see herself becoming completely organic.”The minister said Rs 9 crore will be sanctioned to construct a bridge at Thengumarahada, which is a long pending demand.While addressing the gathering, Nilgiris district collector J Innocent Divya requested funds to renovate heritage buildings, speed up the proposal of cleaning up Ooty lake at the cost of Rs 5 crore, set up a medical college and parking lot in Ooty.Pointing out that there was no police department functioning in the Nilgiris before the British could set foot in the hills, district SP D Shanmuga Priya said, “The Nilgiris district is one of districts in the state with very low crime rate.”MPs, MLAs and government officials attended the function wherein Velumani distributed welfare measures to 960 beneficiaries to the tune of Rs 6, 74, 49,810.

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