Raipur. Looking at this picture, if you are thinking that this is bottle gourd then you are wrong… because this about 2.5 feet long is not bottle gourd but ‘Niranjan Bhata’ i.e. brinjal. Farmer Leelaram Sahu of village Dhuma, Kurud of Dhamtari has done this miracle. The traditional variety of brinjal ‘Niranjan Bhata’ has been granted registration and patent as the tallest brinjal under Plant Variety Protection and Farmers’ Rights. This is a native variety, which Leela Ram Sahu’s father, Niranjan Sahu, has accumulated over the years.
The length of this brinjal ranges from 2 to 2.5 feet and according to Leela Ram Sahu, it is the longest brinjal species in the world, which produces the crop in about 3 months. This brinjal is very tasty and sweet to eat, in which the quantity of seeds is less. The amount of water in it is also less and fiber is found in abundance. Like potatoes or other vegetables, it cooks easily. In South India it is used in making sambar, where it dissolves easily.
It is noteworthy that the farmer has also been honored by the President for his work, which is a matter of pride for the farmers of Chhattisgarh. Sahu said that this work has been done under the able leadership of Dr. Deepak Sharma, Head of Department, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding and Dr. Dhananjay Sharma (ADR), Principal Scientist, Department of Vegetable Science, Indira Gandhi Agricultural University. Expressing his heartfelt gratitude to these scientists, he said that it is a matter of pride for the farmers of Chhattisgarh that their collected varieties are getting recognition at the national level, which will definitely benefit them.