Madikeri :

B Hoovaiah is a happy man. A stalk of sugarcane grown by Hoovaiah in Madikeri is all set to enter the Guinness Records as the tallest in the world. The earlier record, set in 2001, was held by Venkatesh Gowda of Kolar.

Hoovaiah, a BSNL tower operator in Convent Junction in Madikeri, has been protecting the cane for three years now. All the required inspections have been completed by expert committees and a team from Guinness is expected to arrive shortly, before an official announcement can be made.

Hoovaiah told Express that an expert team inspected the stalk and measured it at 41.1 feet.

He then formally approached the Guinness authorities, asking them to consider it for a world record.

Later, he received an acknowledgement from Guinness records in-charge, Era Norroy.

Hoovaiah, who served in the Indian Army for 26 years, lives at Bettathoor in Madikeri taluk and has served as a tower operator for 11 years.

He expressed happiness that the cane had been grown organically.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / home> States> Karnataka / by B C Dinesh / July 10th, 2014