Mysore/Mysuru: The 6th Kisan Swaraj Sammelan will be held at Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) Convocation Hall, Mukthagangothri campus in city, from Feb. 27 to Mar. 1, said KSOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Sharanappa V. Halase.

Addressing mediapersons after releasing posters of the Sammelan at KSOU Guest House recently, he said the event was being organised by Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) in association KSOU Prasaranga.

The three-day event will witness the participation of more than 1,000 delegates from various States across the country

The Sammelan will begin at 9.30 am tomorrow with the song of late Soil Vasu in the presence of KSOU VC Prof. Sharanappa V. Halase, Registrar Prof. S.K. Naveen Kumar, Dean (Academic) Prof. M. Ramanathan Naidu, KSOU Prasaranga Director Dr. Santhosh Naik among others.

The Sammelan will see the participation of pioneering natural farmers like Subhash Sharma, Padma Shri award recipient, as well as several Genome Saviour Awardee farmers; promoters and policy-makers like T. Vijay Kumar, Special Chief Secretary (Natural Farming) to the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Deivasenapthy, senior bureaucrat who established the foundation for Dantewada district to become completely organic in Chhattisgarh.

Exhibitions: The Sammelan will host educational exhibitions for general public as well as farmers and will have stalls by natural and organic farmers and farmer collectives selling their chemical-free produce. Food stalls are expected to sell a diverse cuisine of organic foods to tickle the taste buds of Mysureans.

For enthusiastic citizens of Mysuru wanting to develop green fingers for urban/kitchen gardens, special workshops have been organised, in addition to live demonstrations. 

A unique attraction in this Sammelan would be the famous Patnulu spinning live demonstration of women from Ponduru in Andhra Pradesh. The Sammelan will also showcase traditional bullock-driven oil extraction.

More than thousand varieties of traditional seeds will be showcased by around 30 seed saver-farmers along with the display of roots, tubers and rare vegetables. Workshops and parallel sessions by experts have also been organised.

A musical event titled ‘Songs from Soul’ by Vasu Dixit has been organised on Feb. 27 at 8 pm and Bharatanatyam by Abhivyakti Foundation artistes on Feb. 28.  Those interested may register their names by logging on to www.sammelan.kisanswaraj.in/south-india. Entry is free for the public. For more information, call Mob: 81055-79839 or e-mail: [email protected].